CU director of transit dies

An unexpected death last month by the leader of Springfield’s public bus service leaves a hole to fill for City Utilities administrators during a time of long-awaited changes.

A few of those who worked closely with the father of three said he was an enthusiastic supporter of Springfield-area economic development.

CU Director of Transit Kevin Lowe, 45, died of an apparent heart attack Feb. 23 at his home in Rogersville, according to an obituary from Herman H. Lohmeyer Funeral Home. Lowe was nearly three months in to his role as department director and had been solidifying the long-running plans to move CU’s downtown bus terminal on undeveloped land at Main Avenue and College Street.

“There are a lot of moving parts, and he was just getting the ball rolling on all of those,” said Chris Jones, CU’s associated general manager of information technology and transportation, who selected Lowe for the position after Jones served as acting director for a year.

Lowe began the job Dec. 1, having worked as assistant manager of design and construction at the public utility for three years.

Bidding for the bus terminal in the works prior to the recession is slated to open for contractors beginning March 18, and Jones said he expects a selection to be made by the end of the month.

Operationally, Jones said the death is a setback, but he doesn’t believe any further delays would threaten the year-end completion date.

“There will be some route changes that will have to be made as the transfer station changes locations, so one of the things Kevin was working on was what those route changes would be,” Jones said, noting Steven Stacye, a CU operations manager, is filling the role of interim transit director.

No timetable has been determined for when a successor would be in place.

Prior to moving to CU, Lowe worked as a Greene County highway administrator and helped launch the Springfield office for Lincoln, Neb.-based engineering firm Olsson Associates Inc. He worked as a client manager with Olsson for six years and also served a nine-year stint as an operations engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

“He had a transportation background with Greene County and MoDOT, and he knew people with the county and city,” Jones said.

Kent Morris, director of planning and zoning for Greene County, said Lowe was instrumental in the early development of plans for an east-west arterial at the southern edge of the county between Kansas Expressway and U.S. Highway 65 at Evans Road.

The road still hasn’t been built, but the arterial has a road map to follow when funds become available, and Morris attributes that to Lowe’s efforts.

“Back then, that was when we were working about as fast as we could possibly work. That was back before the economy turned south, and he got the highway department up to speed and working efficiently,” Morris said. “He was fun to work with and had the knack for getting people to work together.”

Gregg Stancer of Nixa-based Gregg Stancer Realty said he worked with Lowe a few times on small-scale development projects he declined to name when Lowe was working at Greene County and Olsson Associates.

“He was a man of action,” Stancer said, adding Lowe was influential behind the scenes in bringing together landowners, developers and government groups to create situations where all parties benefited, such as the east-west arterial plan. “Kevin was a dealmaker. He always kept things moving forward.”

At Olsson, Lowe was the key local administrator in its early days in Springfield. In 2007, he hired Kelly Turner, who is now a vice president with the company. Turner said Lowe, a sports enthusiast, especially golf, was a mentor and a friend.

“He always wanted to find a way to be successful and to help the client,” Turner said, adding developers or government officials often can be protective of self interests, but Lowe was good at seeing the big picture. “He always wanted to find a way for everyone to win.”

Besides working with neighbors and landowners on long-term plans for the east-west arterial, dubbed Riverbluff Boulevard, at the southern edge of Greene County, Lowe was instrumental in identifying the land for Mercy’s $115 million orthopedic clinic and its $28 million rehabilitation hospital at U.S. 65 and Evans Road. That assistance led to the company’s hiring as civil engineer on both projects, Turner said.

For Turner, Lowe’s legacy centers on the care he demonstrated for staff members. He said Lowe’s mentorship continued after he stopped working for the engineering firm.

“I probably got closer to him after he left for CU,” Turner said. “If I ever had a difficult project question or a tough client, I knew I could give him a call.

“He will long be remembered by those who had the privilege to work with him.”

Jones said Lowe’s death was a loss for him personally and professionally. The two also were acquainted from Lowe’s days with the county highway department, 2001-05.

“Personally, Kevin and I were colleagues, co-workers and friends for a number of years. So, personally, it has been a huge shock,” Jones said.

“Professionally, the utility and the greater community lost a really talented young man that was full of energy. Anybody who knew him knew that Kevin was good at everything that he did. He was going to be great at being the transit director as well. I’m absolutely sure of that.”

CU spokesman Joel Alexander said no public announcement about Lowe’s death was made in the week following because the organization understood that some of the family had not been notified. He said by the time CU felt comfortable confirming the news, many knew about the death via social media, so no news release was ever issued.

“Honestly, we haven’t dealt with this situation before,” Alexander said, adding this was the first death of a top executive at CU he could recall.

He said CU officials are discussing a protocol for how to handle such news.

According to Lowe’s obituary online, he was a graduate of Willow Springs High School, and he held a bachelor’s in civil engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is survived by his wife, Dana, and their three children.