Lowell Dahl

Lowell Conrad Dahl, 88, departed this mortal life July 26, 2017, from causes incident to age.  He will be missed by his children and their spouses: Randall (Cynthia) Dahl, David (Gayla) Dahl, Janell (Zan) Draney, Annette (Grant) Hirsche, Sandra (Brian) Merrill, and Jason Dahl, as well as 29 grandchildren, 65 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.  Lowell was the oldest child of Conrad “Connie” Soren Dahl and Rita Lavon Cundick and grew up in the East Midvale / Union area of Utah.  His siblings, not all now living, are Marilyn (Robert) Hardcastle, Ila Dean (Norman) Proctor, Weston (Marilyn) Dahl, Wayne (Pattie) Dahl, and Brent (Susan) Dahl.

Lowell met Ila Mae Fairbourn in high school and after a three-year courtship; they were married on August 23, 1949, in the Salt Lake Temple.  Together, after Lowell's graduation from the then Utah State Agricultural College, they traveled and lived in several different areas of the United States.  They moved 14 times in the first 10 years of their marriage as Lowell pursued his career as an Engineer for the Government and served a short tour of military service.  Prior to their moving to Orem, Utah, they resided in Boise, Idaho, for 29 years, where their children grew to adulthood.

During his adult life, Lowell served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in leadership or teaching positions.  He was known as a good organizer and always available to help others.  One of his favorite callings in the church was as executive secretary to the bishop or stake president, a position he held numerous times.  Late in life, he also served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with the love of his life, his wife, in the Idaho Boise Mission.

In the early 1960’s, Lowell began using computers in his work as a collateral interest.  He learned several computer-programming languages and worked with various computers as they evolved into what we have today.  When he retired, he was the Information Systems Manager for the BLM in the state of Idaho, responsible for all computer, radio, and telephone systems.

When Lowell retired in 1985, personal PC’s were just being introduced so he bought one and has worked with them ever since.  He became known as Dr_Computer and spent many hours helping others become knowledgeable about their use.

Lowell had many interests in life but always dedicated his first efforts to his callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He was a self-taught organ hobbyist and owned a Lowery electronic organ, which he played almost every day for as long as he was able.

Lowell also had an interest in model railroading and constructed a working, highly detailed “N” gage scale railroad in his workshop.  Paralleling his occupation as a civil engineer, Lowell had a 40-year avocation of photography which he discontinued in the 1980’s.  When digital cameras were introduced and computer photo manipulation became available, he often remarked how exciting photo processing had now become.

All and all, Lowell lived a busy, happy, and industrious life as a father, an engineer, a photographer, a musician, and a computer enthusiast.

Funeral services will be held at noon on Saturday, July 29, 2017, at the LDS Chapel at 715 South Utah Avenue in Provo, Utah. A viewing will be held just prior to the services at 10:30 a.m. at the church.

The family wishes to express heartfelt thanks to the many people who have served Dad for the past several years. Most recently those at Summerfield and Encompass are especially appreciated.