Lowell T. Underhill

We said goodbye to our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.

Lowell T. Underhill, age 86, passed away on September 12, 2020 surrounded by the love of his family.   He was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1934 and spent most of his youth in Broomall, PA where he graduated from Marple-Newtown High School where he played baseball, basketball and football.  He developed a lifelong passion for the outdoors through his adventures while hiking, fishing and hunting around Springton Reservoir and Darby Creek. In 1952, he enrolled at Penn State University where he majored in Forestry. After his freshman year, he, along with 3 classmates, drove to Umpqua National Forest in Oregon’s Cascade Range in a used car they had to fix before they could drive it. They each worked the summer in isolation, living alone as smoke-chasers in fire towers located high in the mountains. They were charged with calling in forest fires to the United States Forest Service in Roseburg, Oregon. Upon their return to campus in the fall, they were delighted to sell the car for more than they paid for it; this was the start of Lowell’s habit of rarely owning a car that was younger than his oldest child.

Before graduating in 1956, he met and fell in love with a freshman from Pittsburgh, PA named Lois Bergquist. He serenaded her in the courtyard of Atherton Hall in the hopes she would not forget him after he graduated and left for his first job with a paper & pulpwood company in Spring Grove, PA. Within 6 months, he was drafted into the United States Army and served 2 years in Korea. Upon his return from Korea, he married Lois in 1959 and they started their 61 year marriage in Seaford, DE where Lowell joined the DuPont Co. In 1962, they welcomed their first child and eight years later had their hands full with four more.

Although Lowell’s 36 year career with the DuPont Co. moved the family to Seaford and Wilmington, DE, Martinsville, VA and back to Wilmington, he made time for coaching Little League baseball, serving on the Citizens Advisory Board for the Brandywine School District, church committees, and serving Delaware Nature Society as a board member for 18 years. For his “dear ole” Penn State, he served as director of Penn State’s School of Forest Resources Alumni Group and as a director of the College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society.  He was awarded the School of Forest Resources Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2008.  Lowell was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church where he served as a Deacon.

Lowell loved photography, running and his dogs. He was a dignified, humble, disciplined man who lost all sense of perspective 12 Saturdays a year when his Nittany Lions football team was on the field. His most cherished gift was his family to whom he was so dedicated. He is survived by his wife, Lois, children Tom of Wilmington, DE, Kathryn of Houston, TX, Kurt (Jessica) of Holly Springs, NC, Erik (Claudia) of Wilmington, DE, and Neil (Ingrid) of Carmel, IN, grandchildren Isabella, Hugh, Haakon, Will, Evelyn, Ellery, Anja, Berit and Jack and  brothers Douglas of North Richland Hills, TX and John of Greenville, TX. He was predeceased by his parents, John and Beatrice Underhill, brothers George and Gary, sister Alice and granddaughter Juliana.

The family wishes to extend heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Jamal Misleh and his staff and the caring staff at Delaware Hospice.

Memorial contributions may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1502 West 13^th Street, Wilmington DE 19806 or Delaware Nature Society, P.O. Box 700, Hockessin, DE 19707.