Dr. R. Neil Lowry, noted consultant to the pool industry in Canada and the United States, passed suddenly Tuesday, March 28, 2006. The Newmarket, Ontario, resident had just returned home from a day long session at a Toronto hotel teaching water chemistry to pool operators when he collapsed. He was 67.

At the time of his death, Dr. Lowry was serving as principal-in-charge of Lowry & Associates, a nationwide distributor of specialty chemicals which has exclusive representation of Taylor Technologies’ water-testing products in Canada; owner and chief educator for the Lowry School of Pool & Spa Chemistry; and a contributing writer and commentator for numerous trade publications, most notably Pool & Spa Marketing magazine. He was an active member of the Pool & Hot Tub Council of Canada and the only Canadian voting member of the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals’ Recreational Water Quality Committee whose water quality guidelines are followed by public pools and spas throughout North and South America. He also served as an advisor to the board of directors of the Professional Pool Operators of America.

Dr. Lowry’s ability to make a complicated subject understandable for the average person was coupled with an enthusiasm for his subject matter that most people could not resist, and this made him a sought-after public speaker. Most recently he took part in a panel discussion on preventing recreational water illnesses at the 26th annual Canadian Pool & Spa Conference in Toronto. Said Richard Hubbard, the Markham, Ontario-based publisher of Pool & Spa Marketing, “Neil was one of the pool industry’s finest and most respected educators, and one of its greatest friends. He was passionately devoted to elevating the understanding of water chemistry among aquatic facility managers, public health inspectors, and pool builders, service companies, and pool supplies retailers. He always said, ‘Over ninety percent of pool problems are caused by poor water chemistry.’ Without him, the level of discourse in our industry will be diminished.”

His influence on Canada’s $1.2-billion-a-year pool and spa industry is pervasive. Dr. Lowry contributed to the present regulations for public spas under the auspices of the Ontario Ministry of Health. He also designed the model labels for pool products regulated under the federal Pest Control Products Act. He was the original author of “Pool & Spa Chemistry: A Testing & Treatment Guide,” widely regarded as the bible of water quality management. Over the course of 26 years, thousands across Canada became certified pool water technicians by his pool school.

Robert Neil Lowry was born in Windsor, Ontario, to Mac and Marjorie Lowry and was a loving big brother to David Kent Lowry and Lynda Jane Parker. He earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from the University of Western Ontario in nearby London; a doctorate in inorganic chemistry from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; and a master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. But Neil Lowry was no ivory tower academic. He spent the early part of this career with three Canadian chemical companies: first in pool chemical sales at Kert Chemical Industries, Inc., then as pool chemical products manager at Swan Recreational Products Limited, and finally as technical services director for Mursatt Chemicals Limited. He established Lowry & Associates in 1985 with his wife Gabriele as his business partner.

Lowry & Associates became the master distributor for Taylor Technologies in Canada in 1989, but the two firms’ relationship goes back even further. “Neil and I worked together for 26 years,” said a saddened Paul Wooden, president of Taylor. “He was more than a trusted business associate. He was a good friend to me, and to many others at Taylor. He was an incredibly smart man and so funny! We loved spending time with Neil at the end of a long day at a trade show; he kept us in stitches with his jokes and parlor tricks. His sudden passing has left us all numb with grief.”

One of his friends at Taylor was marketing VP Patricia Fitzgerald. “Dr. Lowry had a fierce intellect and a blunt manner of speaking that took some getting used to. He was an avid reader, a student of history, and always up on current events. In a debate of any kind he took no prisoners. But if he had the roar of a lion, he also had the heart,” Fitzgerald reminisced. “I will miss him greatly.”

He met Gabriele Adelmann in Boston, Masssachusetts, and the pair married shortly thereafter in July 1972. While growing their business together they also grew a family, producing sons Michael and Derek, now ages 30 and 28 respectively, and daughter Sarah, age 17. He was a devoted husband and father. When Mackenzie, 3, Andrew, 18 months, and Erik, 1 month, were born to Michael and his wife Jennifer, the grandchildren became his pride and joy. Derek Lowry and his spouse Sheila Starrett are both involved in running Lowry & Associates; Michael Lowry too is following in his father’s footsteps by being a part of the industry.

“We all have not only lost a loving husband, father and grandfather we have also lost our very best friend.”

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 3rd, at the Old Mill Inn, 21 Old Mill Road, Toronto, in the Brule A Room on the first floor (416-236-2641). All friends and colleagues are welcome. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First Church of Christ Scientist, Etobicoke, where Dr. Lowry attended. Arrangements entrusted to the Roadhouse & Rose Funeral Home, Newmarket, (905)895-6631, www.roadhouseandrose.com.

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