Lowell Webb

Published 2:20 pm Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Lowell Elliott Webb, age 86, of Picayune, MS, passed away Thursday, November 30, 2023 at Highland Hospital, Picayune MS after a short illness.

Lowell was a humble American patriot who dedicated 60 years of his life in service to the U.S. Navy. He was born at his grandmother’s house in Bloomer, Wisconsin on December 16th , 1936. He attended 1st through 8th grade at the Mile Corner one-room schoolhouse. He grew up enjoying the Wisconsin outdoors where he developed a love of hunting and fishing that he carried throughout his life and lovingly passed on to his family. From his family genealogy, he was a Mayflower descendant and a descendant of both Officers and Men who served in the American Revolution of 1776.

Lowell graduated from Bloomer High School in 1954. Afterward, he attended Northwest Prep School in Minneapolis, Minnesota and then received a Congressional appointment to United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He was a Midshipman from 1956 – 1960, graduating with a B.S. in Engineering and was commissioned an Officer in the U.S. Navy. He later attended the U.S. Naval Post the Graduate School in Monterey, California from 1964-1966 where he earned a master’s degree in physics, specializing in the Air Ocean Environment. During his time with the United States Navy, he proudly served on the U.S.S. John W Weeks, the U.S.S. Boxer, and the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy. Lowell was a combat veteran of Vietnam serving in the Vietnam War from 1966-1967, where he was in charge of a Patrol Boat River (PBR) unit in the Mekong Delta. Before Navy retirement he found time to complete the academic coursework for a PhD with Penn State U.

After retiring as a LCDR from the Navy, he served as a civilian Oceanographer for the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office at Stennis Space Center. During the early 1980’s, Lowell taught Chemistry and Physics at Picayune Memorial High School. He later returned to civil service with the Naval Oceanographic Office, until he retired at the age of 82 in 2018. His oceanographic work world-wide contributed to the safety and security of the Navy’s nuclear submarine forces, our country’s primary national security deterrent. He was a member of the Bloomer American Legion. He also served as a U.S. Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer where he screened and interviewed applicants for entrance to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lowell was a loving and doting father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He treasured his outdoors activities with them, fishing, hunting, rafting and biking, and they treasured him. He will be sorely missed.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Willard Webb and Norma Josephine Lane Webb. Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 62 years, Sandra Alice DiStefano Webb; his son, Christopher Robert Webb; his daughters, Michelle (Paul) Lane Webb Berdux and Andrea (Brian) Louise Webb Saffle; his 7 grandchildren, Anthony Webb, Meghan Webb, Quinn Webb Davis, Coleen Webb Driggers, Elliot Webb, Emily Saffle, and Lexie Saffle; his 4 great grandchildren, Adelai Davis, Isaiah Davis, Jordyn Webb, and Wallace Webb; his brothers, Layne Dix Webb and Bruce Collin Webb; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Saturday, December 9, 2023, from 2:00 PM until 3:00 PM, at Trinity United Methodist Church.

Funeral Services will be held Saturday, December 9, 2023, at 3:00 PM, at Trinity United Methodist Church.

Arrangements are by McDonald Funeral Home of Picayune, MS.

Register Book can be found on the funeral home internet page, at www.mcdonaldfh.com.

Contributions may be made to either the Tunnels to Towers Foundation at www.t2t.org, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org/donate.