As I awoke this morning, Lowell Carpenter was very much on my mind.
When I was a young man just starting out in business, Lowell was a seasoned executive, a man of stature and integrity, who headed various parts of TRW's large purchasing organization.
This good hearted man became a major computer leasing customer of mine and he taught me about conducting business on a grand scale with a massive organization.
Even though Lowell is no longer with us, it was as if I had just seen him. I could hear his voice in my mind, see his warm smile and I was again the fortunate recipient of his advice.
Lowell was born about 1917 and his beautiful and charming wife Dorothy was born about a year later. They married when they were about 21 and 20 and prior to World War 2, in 1939 and 1940 they had their first two sons.
After World War 2, in 1949 and 1950 they had their other two sons. And I recall a photo on Lowell's desk from the 1950's in which he had been the coach of one of his son's baseball team, one sponsored by a Packard car dealership.
Lowell was a superb golfer, borderline good enough to have become a pro-golfer, but he was content to dominate golf tournaments such as those hosted by TRW. I believe Lowell never became a golf pro because he felt a responsibility to support his family, and recalled too well, the Great Depression.
In his late 60's Lowell felt the corporate pressure to retire but TRW kept him on a bit longer in effect as a consultant.
In retirement, he and Dorothy moved away from the Los Angeles area but I kept in touch with them by telephone and occasionally by mail into the 2000's.
But in old age, Lowell began to have memory problems, although he seemingly always remembered me. It broke my heart to hear this great man struggle, and hearing Dorothy describe the circumstances.
Lowell was the love of her life and she was protective of him, including when she told me he would have to live in a care facility because in her advanced years, she could no longer be his caregiver. Instead she would move near the care facility, which was near one of their sons, and remain close to him.
Dorothy warmly and diplomatically let me know the end of my relationship with Lowell had come.
But that is the way of life. People come and go in our lives, as do corporations. Aerospace giant TRW, long a household name was acquired years ago by Boeing and is slowly becoming a forgotten name among many other forgotten names in corporate history, including that of Packard.
This morning when I awoke, it was as if I had just been with Lowell and Dorothy and had enjoyed their company as I had done for many years. Yet I could not recall my dream or any other reason why this feeling of closeness would be so.
Had I just been with them in spirit? Or was it simply my in depth memories of them that returned in the form of a dream I could not recall?
In any case, I felt as though we had just been together which I rejoiced in and was sorry for them to go. For a brief time I could again be with Lowell, my long time friend and mentor.
Dick
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