Arthur Loewen, one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Faculty of Education. Loewen passed away on Oct. 18, 2023, at the age of 96.
Art was born to David and Elizabeth Loewen on April 20th, 1927, in Rabbit Lake, SK. In December of 1929, he moved with his parents and five older siblings to Crowfoot, AB and then, two years later, to a homestead in Gem, AB, where eight more siblings were added to the family, with one sister dying in childhood. At the time of his death, Arthur was one of only three remaining of the fourteen siblings. He is survived by his brother Pete, and his sister Rosie.
Arthur attended grade-school in Gem and graduated from Alberta Mennonite High School in Coaldale, AB in 1948. After high school, Arthur worked on the family farm for a time, then achieved his teaching degree in Calgary and later, his Master’s degree in education from the University of Alberta. He held positions as teacher, vice principal, principal, and school superintendent in several towns in Southern Alberta before being recruited to the newly founded University of Lethbridge in 1967. There, he remained in the Faculty of Education, serving as associate professor, Assistant to the Dean, and Associate Dean until his retirement in 1987. Loewen’s impact was broad and meaningful, and he and his colleagues helped establish the Faculty of Education as one of the premier education programs in the country. The Faculty founders were honoured in 2017 with the establishment of the Founding Faculty Awards, a student award in the Faculty of Education that provides $500 per year to Faculty of Education students (one in each of the 11 subject major areas).
Arthur married Rena Ruth Slinn, the “love of his life” on July 14th, 1956. They started their life together in Duchess, moving on to Edmonton, Foremost, and Trochu before settling in Lethbridge where they remained. Together they raised four children: Brenda (Ron) Firth, Pam Loewen, Craig (Sharon) Loewen, and Teresa Loewen. Besides his loving wife, Arthur will be dearly missed by his children, his six grandchildren: Kiel, Katie, Josh (Jessica), Sam, Kara, and Tim; and his five great-grandchildren: Connor, Mason, Gracyn, Brinley, and Brittyn, all of whom brought him great joy.
In his younger years, Arthur enjoyed participating in sports of all kinds, especially baseball and curling. Weekends and summers would find Arthur camping, fishing, hiking, and spending time with his family. He loved gospel music, fixing things in his shop, and building treasured furniture and toys out of wood. In his later years, Arthur continued his love of sports by cheering on his favourite teams. He was a particular fan of the Toronto Blue Jays. Arthur completed the crossword puzzle (in ink!) in the paper every day, including the day he died. He was an avid reader and enjoyed keeping up with the news and politics. Arthur was very active in the church all his life, loved his Lord, and modelled Christian living in all aspects of his life.
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