Ricky Lowe’s life’s work made travel easier and safer for Guyanese

Dear Editor,

I have just heard of the passing of Ricky Lowe, renowned Guyanese engineer.

I wish to put in writing my sincere appreciation of his life’s work of building and maintaining Guyana’s important roads and bridges. On behalf of the Guyanese people I thank him for his commitment and dedication to making travel safer and easier for our nation.

I am fortunate to know about the Lowe family through many windows. I am a lifelong friend of his sister Jan Lo Shinebourne, writer whose novels and stories tell of life in Canje and Guyana from the perspective of a mixed Guyanese family. Janice is a Guyana Prize winner and her novels, including her latest, have been shortlisted for the prize. She is also an educator and has done writing workshops for young writers in Guyana.

Janice’s sister, Brenda, Guyana scholar, was an outstanding graduate of Bishops who inspired many women to follow in her footsteps. She blazed a trail as an architect and teacher in the UK. She is a lifelong friend of my first wife, Marjeiry Robinson.

I was fortunate also to teach Roddy Lowe at Queens College. So many decades later I remember his love for photography. He went on to a successful professional life in Canada.

Through these relationships I got a vivid sense of a family reaching out to the world with values that were prominent in the most humble Guyanese family decades ago. So as we travel across the major roads and bridges of Guyana toot your horn, look up and thank Ricky for his loving work. His last major project was the building of the Berbice harbour bridge. Also he gave a significant portion of his life to managing and maintaining the Demerara Harbour bridge.

My condolences to his family and friends.

I salute his life’s work.

Yours faithfully,

Milton Drepaul