Vince Lowes of Springfield Township was one of nine children born to Clayton and Laura Lowes.
After his older brother Clayton’s funeral earlier this month, Vince is the last Lowes sibling alive.
Despite his age, Lowes, 71, continues to work as a maintenance welder at a General Motors plant long past the age when many of his peers have retired or passed away.
‘You don’t think you’d outlive everybody. The only thing you know for sure is the next one to go in the family is you,? said Lowes when asked about Clayton’s passing and burial at Lakeview Cemetery.
Clayton’s burial brought Lowes back to Lakeview where his parents and siblings Glen, Fred and sister Helen also rest. The other children buried elsewhere include Woodrow, Paul, Carl and Dorothy.
‘The day of Clayton’s funeral I walked over there,? said Lowes. ‘I don’t go a lot, it’s not one of my favorite things, but I know exactly where they are all at.?

The working man
Lowes works full time as a maintenance welder at a General Motors plant in Pontiac where he has been employed for 30 years after working as a journeyman welder for 20 years.
‘I work with a good crew. We have a lot of fun. I enjoy going there. When I don’t enjoy going there, I’ll quit,? said Lowes, who explained his hours vary depending on need, but often go over 40. ‘I worked 48 hours last week.?
Even as his 72nd birthday approaches, Lowes intends to go right on working.
‘It’s made me a nice living and I’m thankful for that. I couldn’t sit here all day and I don’t want to be a greeter at Walmart or something,? said Lowes.
Lowes said his wife Terry, who he married in 1973 and shares two children (Jayson and Jim) with, deserves much of the credit for his ability to continue working and outliving his siblings.
‘My wife, who worked in the medical field, got some things taken care of over the years I probably wouldn’t have. I owe it all to her for getting me there,? said Lowes.
‘My cardiologist told me, ‘You’re amazing, don’t quit,? he laughed.
Lack of retirement plans would most likely not surprise his parents or siblings if they were alive today.
‘I’ve always worked,? said Lowes. ‘I started young and that’s what I liked to do.?
According to Lowes, his work ethic comes from enjoying work.
As an 11-year-old during World War II, Lowes recalled one of his first jobs, planting a garden and raising chickens and Muscovy Ducks. His mother would sell the produce on the road.
As a 15-year-old, Lowes recalled working ice delivery for Russ Walters who owned Walters Dairy in Clarkston.
‘Two days a week we’d take ice to the commercial places, bars and restaurants,? said Lowes. ‘We used to delivery ice to Henry Ford’s big parties at the Ford Estate on Holcomb.?
Taking his cardiologist’s advice, Lowes continues to work and finds maintenance around his house to keep him busy when he’s not working. His next project is to rip up and replace a floor.

The first good-bye
The burial of Clayton at Lakeview Cemetery brought Lowes back to another brother’s grave. Glen Lowes was the first World War II veteran buried in the cemetery after he was killed in action on Jan. 14, 1945, according to Lowes.
‘That was the first one put in military plot in the Clarkston cemetery. The community came there because it was known that the first veteran from World War II was buried there,? said Lowes. ‘I can remember it like it was yesterday. There was a lot of people there that day. I bet there was a hundred people.
‘You’re not going to find a stone in (the veterans? area) older than this.?
Lowes recalled how the community presence during the April funeral helped his family during a difficult time after their son was killed the war.
‘It just raised people’s spirits that people did come who didn’t even know him. It was a community event. Most of those people there are probably gone,? said Lowes, who was 10 years old at the time of the funeral.
Lowes recalls that his parents handled the funeral fairly well because it occurred weeks after they received a telegram from the government informing them their son was killed. He recalls talking to Glen right before he headed back to the military and over into combat around the end of 1942.
‘In the evening him and I walked along M-15 out to Oakhill Road. We were just talking,? said Lowes remembering the last time he saw his brother.

Military experience
While Lowes never served in the military, earning an exemption when a daughter was born with his first wife, three of the brothers ? Woodrow, Clayton and Glen ? served in the military.
He said the family read the newspapers following the wars.
‘It was in the paper everyday, we pretty much knew where they were at,? said Lowes.
Clayton’s service in the Army during the Korean War was unexpected, explained Lowes.
‘I thought back then (World War II) was the end of wars,? said Lowes. ‘I never thought another brother would fight in another war. They said it was the war to end all wars.?

Tomorrow
So tomorrow, Vince Lowes plans to work and take overtime hours when they are offered, just like he has always done ? with wife Terry waiting at home and memories of Woodrow, Paul, Glen, Fred, Clayton, Carl, Dorothy and Helen bounding through his head.

This excerpt ran in the Feb. 9, 1945 edition of The Clarkston News:

Our Boys and Girls In The Service
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Lowes who live on M15 just north of Clarkston have been informed by the war department that their son Pvt. Glen Lowes, 20, was killed in action in France on Jan. 14. Pvt. Lowes was inducted March 29, 1943. He served 14 months in England with a quartermaster corps replacement unit and was then transferred to the infantry and sent to France where he joined the 3rd Army. Besides his parents he is survived by two sisters, Dorothy and Helen and six brothers, Pvt. Woodrow Lowes with the Marines in the Pacific area, Paul, Frederick, Clayton, Jr., Vincent and Carl, all at home.

From the June 8, 1945 edition of The Clarkston News:

Okinawa ? (Delayed) ? Private Woodrow L. Lowes, 26, of Clarkston, Mich., a battalion runner in the Fifth Marine Regiment, is wondering if he should have been called a crawler.
Lowes was carrying a message from the front one night when Jap mortar shells fell near him. The message was urgent and could not be transmitted by radio or telephone for fear the Japs would learn the contents.
The Marine began to crawl out of the barrage. On hands and knees, and part of the time on his stomach, he crawled for 300 yards. Then he ran the remaining 300 yards.
Lowes, a former welder, entered service in June, 1944, and has been overseas for six months. His wife, Mrs. Fern Lowes, and their two children, Luella, 6, and Glen, 1, live in Clarkston.