Ralph W. Rowe, M.D.

Ralph Wayne Rowe finished life’s journey on Saturday, February 11, 2012, in Abilene, Texas, after a long, courageous and private battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Visitation will be Friday, February 17, from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Piersall-Benton Funeral Home in Abilene. Funeral will be Saturday, February 18, at 10:00 a.m. at the Hillcrest Church of Christ in Abilene, with interment following at Elmwood Memorial Park in Abilene. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, February 19 at 2:00 p.m. in Tyler at West Erwin Church of Christ.

Ralph was born in Hope, Arkansas on August 1, 1930, to Sam William Rowe and Mildred Weeks Rowe. He was welcomed into the family by his older brothers, Sam A. Rowe, and Jack H. Rowe, and later joined by a fourth boy, W. Kenneth Rowe. Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, and one brother, Jack. Ralph is survived by his wife, Marian L. Rowe, RN, Ph.D, one son, James H. Rowe and wife, Kathryn, of Garland, three daughters, Laurel (Laurie) R. Lott, RN, and husband, Dee, of Abilene, Cindy R. Giles, and husband, Ken Sr., of Garland, and Jill R. Stickler, and husband, Doug, of Clarksburg, Maryland; seven grandchildren: Kenneth Giles, Jr. of Sanger, Mark Giles and wife, Ashley, of Abilene, Jordan L. Eaton and husband, Brent, of Fort Worth, Adam Lott and wife, Heather, of Abilene, Heather B. Ellis and husband, Trent, of Red Oak, Megan Stickler of Dallas, and Meredith Stickler of Clarksburg, Maryland; two great-grandchildren: Ava Ellis of Red Oak and Daniel Giles of Abilene, and many other loving family members, a host of friends, and his brothers and sisters in Christ.

As a young boy, Ralph and his family were tenant farmers or sharecroppers near Emmet, Arkansas in Hempstead and Nevada Counties, where Ralph learned to chop and pick cotton, care for livestock and excel in school. With the goal of “providing the boys an education”, his family moved to Texas City, Texas when Ralph was 14. He worked as a “grease monkey” at the Ford dealership, hardware store janitor, ice cream cart driver, grocery store produce stocker, ambulance driver, and veterinary assistant. Ralph was in History class when he experienced the 1947 Texas City Explosion of ammonium nitrate on a cargo ship. He graduated Central High School there in 1948. Ralph’s decision to become a veterinarian took him to Texas A & M, where he was Freshman Class President and completed two years of veterinary training. After his mother had a short illness where he felt helpless to attend to her, he was inspired to become a medical doctor. He finished his pre-med at A & M and was accepted to The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Galveston in 1953. Before he could start medical school, Ralph received a draft notice to report for the Korean War. However, the examining physician told Ralph that the Army was rejecting him, due a concern he would not be able to march long distances because of his flat feet, and that he should proceed to medical school. At some point, Ralph felt torn between becoming a preacher or a medical doctor. After kneeling with his minister in prayer, the preacher told him: “Son, there will be people who come to your office who will never darken the door to the church building. Go on to medical school. If you are called to preach, the Lord will not leave you alone.” So with several potential detours and distractions, Ralph Rowe excelled in his medical studies and graduated at the top of his class in 1957.

While at UTMB Ralph met an unforgettable nursing student on a double blind date, but they were not set up with each other. He realized this was a big mistake, quickly ended the date, and lost no time in asking out the right girl. Ralph married Marian Lemmons of Brownwood in 1956. Following medical school, he selected an internship at Bernalillo County-Indian Hospital in Albuquerque, NM, where their first child, Laurie, was born. Upon completing his internship, he chose to practice in Tyler, Texas. Dr. Rowe and Marian had three more children, James, Cindy and Jill, all of whom graduated from Chapel Hill High School. The Rowe family were members of the West Erwin Church of Christ, where Dr. Rowe served in his later years as Health Coordinator on the Health and Legal Counseling Committee. During his 47 years in Tyler, Dr. Rowe was a Charter Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, Diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice, and member of the American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association, and Smith County Medical Society. Dr. Rowe also served on the staff of Glenwood Clinic, East Texas Medical Center and Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals. It was always his priority to stay current on new information by attending a variety of continuing medical education (CME) opportunities throughout his career and even after retirement. For Dr. Rowe, his patient’s spiritual needs were as important as their physical health, and a patient’s inability to pay never stopped him from giving them the best care possible. His family enjoyed “payments” of fresh eggs and fish, garden produce, handwork, and even weekly pound cakes. Dr. Rowe’s 32-year family practice career covered a time when “specialties” were not prevalent, and he enjoyed treating the full range of life events, including: delivering 2000 babies (he was always humbled that he “never lost a mother”), making house calls, emergency room on–call for all specialties at both hospitals, arranging adoptions, spiritual and marriage counseling, surgeries, and seeing nursing home patients. In 1983, Dr. Rowe was named “Doctor of the Year” at KTYL Tyler am 1330 Radio Station.

In 1990 at age 60, Dr. Rowe retired from his Family Practice career. Dr. Rowe enjoyed many hobbies, including raising and showing Appaloosa and American Quarter Horses. He liked working outside; developing land, designing house plans and custom desks. He loved the beauty of nature and liked to fish, camp and hike. In his retirement, Dr. Rowe focused on his lifelong interest of photography by taking classes. People were his particular interest and he always made an effort to be positive, cheerful and encouraging.

His wife, Dr. Marian Rowe had focused on “caring for the caregiver of Alzheimer’s patients” for her dissertation as she completed her Ph.D in Nursing in 1989. Marian initiated the steps to move the local Smith County Alzheimer’s Support Group to be a recognized chapter of the National Alzheimer’s Association. Marian was the chapter’s first director for five years, responsible for fund-raising, organizing the Memory Walks and countless other tasks. To be of assistance to Marian in his retirement years, Dr. Ralph Rowe was named Volunteer of the Year by the Alzheimer’s Alliance of Northeast Texas, working tirelessly to accomplish anything they needed. On one occasion, he even repaired their ancient copier, using rubber bands and paperclips.

Dr. Rowe gave his life to Christ at age 14 and was a life-long scholar of the
Bible. Following his retirement in 1990 at age 60, he devoted 15 years to researching and writing a book, titled “Is 9/11 A Call to Heal America? The Wonderful World of Worship on Bended Knee”, published in 2009. While in Tyler, Dr. Rowe was a member of the Physician’s Wednesday Bible Breakfast Group, who called themselves “Choir Practice”, and the Men’s Wednesday Bible Luncheon Group. After moving to Abilene, Ralph was a member of the Hillcrest Church of Christ, the Men’s Coffee Group at McDonald’s, and the Highland Men’s Lunch Bunch.
Dr. Ralph Rowe was a kind, compassionate and generous man who truly cared about the souls and well being of others. His wife, Marian, described him as having a deep relationship with God, deeply loving and committed to his family, considerate and communicative, and devoted to his parents. The Rowe family would like to express our sincere gratitude for the many who faithfully reached out to our Dad and our family during his illness, including the staff of Windcrest Alzheimer’s Care Center, Hendrick Parker 5, Hendrick Inpatient Hospice, and the Y/O Bible Class at Hillcrest Church of Christ. Memorials may be made to either the “Ralph W. Rowe, MD Tribute Fund” of the national Alzheimer’s Association at: http://act.alz.org/goto/Ralph.Rowe or to Christian Adoption-Works at: https://www.christian-works.org/donations/indexNEW.php (select Adoption-Works Ministry) Condolences may be offered to the family online at www.pbfuneraldirectors.com.