| Notes |
- 18 April 1930 census of District 50, Springfield, Clark County, OH, showed Lowell Dravenstadt living in dwelling #205 with family. Vernon and Iva said that they were first married at ages 27 and 18 respectively:
Vernon H. 44 OH OH OH - Electrotyper, publishing company
Iva C. 35 OH OH OH
Edward J. 14 OH OH OH
Lowell V. 10 OH OH OH
Velma G. 7 OH OH OH
Elsie 1 7/12 OH OH OH
4 April 1940 census of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, TX, found Lowell living alone at 1509 Grand Avenue. He said that he lived in Springfield, Clark County, OH, on 1 April 1935:
Lowell V. Dravenstadt 19 OH - Single, Completed 4 years of high school education, Transportation agent - Airlines
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According to Lowell, "At that time we were living at 1227 W. Jefferson Street and we lived at that address until I departed Springfield at age 18. Also they have omitted my sister Velma G who was 8 years old on that date."
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Lowell Dravenstadt joined the FAA and its predecessors within two years of the Federal Aviation Act of 1938, which called for the creation of the Federal Airways System and established the Airport and Air Route Air Traffic Control Systems. He entered duty on Nov. 6, 1940 and reported to a Quonset hut located on the grounds of Washington Hoover Airport, which was on grounds now occupied by the Pentagon. He started as an Assistant Air Route Traffic Controller. The center was headed by Van Rawlings and consisted of one senior controller, six controllers and four assistants. When Hoover Airport was closed down, they set up shop on June 15, 1941, at Washington Nat'l Airport where a huge mechanical/electronic flight progress board was being installed. It was patterned after the Teleregister boards used to display stock quotes on the NYSE. (The device was not reliable and was rendered obsolete not long after installation.)
When the war in Europe began to wind down in 1943 and the emphasis transferred to the Pacific Theater, Lowell was moved to San Francisco as a Senior Controller to work with others on the establishment of air traffic control between the West Coast, Hawaii and beyond. He left the agency in the middle of 1944 for war service as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He rejoined the agency in early 1946 at San Francisco and was transferred back to Washington Center. He transferred to the Flight Standards Division in the middle of 1947 where he was assigned to various major airlines, including TWA lnt'l., Capital Airlines, Colonial Airlines, Allegheny Airlines, Pan American Grace and Pan America' Airways until he took early retirement in 1973.
Lowell and his wife, France, operated a small real estate corporation (Mills Estate Realty) on the San Francisco Peninsula from 1973 until she died in 1989. They had been married 47 years. Lowell retired from real estate and joined the Royal Viking Cruise Line as a Host in 1990 and has been involved with the cruise industry until the present time. He is presently an Ambassador Host with Crystal Cruise Lines and a Mariner Host with American Express/Golden Bear Travel.
marinerlowell@aol.com
Lowell Dravenstadt
1255 Lasuen Court
Millbrae, CA 94030
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Obituary for Lowell Vernon Dravenstadt
Lowell Vernon Dravenstadt, family man, entrepreneur, wordsmith, dapper dresser, dancer, romantic, and accomplished traveler, died on Monday, May 13, 2019. He was 98.
In 1920, Woodrow Wilson was president, women gained the right to vote, and a boy named Lowell was born in New Weston, Ohio. His parents, Vernon and Iva Dravenstadt, raised him and his three siblings in Springfield with solid family values and a good work ethic. As a teenager, Lowell was fun-loving, independent, and ambitious.
In 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the war was on. Lowell’s interest in commercial aviation took him to Washington D.C., where he became an air traffic controller. A pretty young woman working at the Eastern Airlines counter caught his eye, and he and France Miller were married a year later. He then enlisted and shipped out with the Merchant Marines working as a radio operator in the Pacific until the end of WWII. After the war, Lowell and his bride moved to Arlington, VA, where he began a 25-year career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). His job assignments included stints in Washington, D.C.; Miami, Florida; Manila, Philippines; and finally in 1962, San Francisco, CA. Meanwhile, Lowell and Fran were raising their children to love, honor, and obey, with a big dose of fun and adventure.
Lowell retired from the FAA in 1973 and started his second career as a real estate broker, founding Mills Estate Realty in Millbrae, CA. He also actively invested in the burgeoning pistachio industry in California. Life was good. And then it wasn’t—Lowell’s beloved wife died in 1989 after 47 years of marriage. Her epitaph befittingly states: ‘She brought sunshine that will warm our hearts forever. ’ With the loss of his life-long partner, Lowell, as a young 69-year old, still had much to do and see.
For the next 15 years, he traveled the world as an Ambassador Host for Crystal Cruise lines and a Mariner Host for Golden Bear Travel. His intelligence, charisma, and million-dollar smile made him popular with everyone he met. Lowell retired from his role as cruise host and spent hours volunteering as a docent at Filoli. This combined his love of nature, children, and education. He spent his final years at Peninsula Regent in San Mateo, CA, as an inspiring senior citizen and a master bocce competitor.
We’ll remember him for his fortitude, zest for life, and quick wit. He was a man of many words with impeccable, and sometimes deadpan, delivery.
Lowell was predeceased by his parents, his siblings, and his wife. He is survived by his daughter, Jeane Makar (Tom Kay); son, Jay Dravenstadt (Emily); grandsons, Weston Dravenstadt (Danielle), and Marshall Dravenstadt, and great granddaughter, Sylvia.
Dravenstadt.Services will be held on Friday, June 7th at Skylawn. Visitation will begin at 10:00 and the funeral at 11:00. All are invited to join the family for a reception afterward.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Mission Hospice or the San Mateo County Park Foundation.
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1920 - 2019 (98 years)
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