Lowen Berman

1942-2024

September 10, 2024

Lowen Berman was born in 1942 in Chicago to Maurie Berman and Ruth (Schwartz) Berman. He grew up a working-class Jewish kid, in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood. Though raised as an only child, he had a half-brother, Earl Berman, through his father and he found a sister in his cousin, Sauci, a deep bond that lasted throughout their lives. Coming of age in 1960, Lowen became a radical. He occupied the President’s office at the University of Chicago demanding integrated housing in 1962, organized protests against the Vietnam War at the 1968 Democratic convention and joined the Venceremos Brigade to harvest sugar cane in Cuba in 1970. He was a sociology graduate student at Indiana University in 1962-1964, and in 1981 got a master’s degree in labor relations from the University of Illinois.

Lowen was a union organizer, a member of the political theater group Bread & Roses, published a local alternative newspaper, and was executive director of a progressive community organization. He drove a cab, took factory jobs, loaded trailers, and sold photography equipment to support himself while dedicating his life to the movement. For fun, he enjoyed riding his beloved BMW motorcycle around the country and taking canoe trips through the boundary waters and along the Canadian coast. One hot summer day in Chicago, he saw a photo of people walking on a glacier and on a whim signed up for a climbing trip with the Mt. Adams Wilderness Institute, where he fell in love with the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

Lowen was married to Joan Saks Berman from 1962 – 1975. He married Kepper Petzing in 1980 and in 1982 they moved to Portland. There they had two daughters, MariRuth and Aliya Petzing. He continued his activist work, notably serving on the Metropolitan Human Rights Commission, working for racial justice, peace, and organizing against climate change with Rising Tide and the Climate Action Coalition. His family spent every Father’s Day at the Gay Pride Parade. He participated in the Multnomah Friends Meeting (Quakers.) For 15 years he ran a machine shop at Oregon Health Sciences University, building and repairing hospital equipment. At OHSU he was a union leader and organized shipments of surplus hospital equipment to Vietnam. He fought to have the right to a part-time schedule so that he could be home more with his daughters. All this prompted his boss to tell him in exasperation “all you care about is people!”

Lowen loved showing his children the natural world, encouraging their creativity, telling them bedtime stories, and teaching them math. He was terrible at laundry. He was an involved parent in his children’s school, Metropolitan Learning Center (MLC). He left OHSU to work first at American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and then at Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). He was especially proud of the community he helped to create at the HIV Day Center. At the end of his career, he was a Standardized Patient at OHSU, using his acting skills to help train health professionals. He found great joy in working with dedicated and caring people and forged deep connections with his colleagues.

Lowen deeply appreciated art, especially woodworking, ceramics, and photography. Going on art studio tours together with Kepper became a highlight of his year. A vegetarian, Lowen became an adventurous cook, always looking for new recipes to share with friends and family. During the last two years of his life, he loved cooking for, and participating in, the Lunch Program, feeding hungry people. He also loved going out to brunch with friends. While not always the best listener, he was a truth-teller, and he saw and celebrated the good in people. Deeply interested in the world, Lowen was an avid reader who enjoyed books on science, history, politics, and philosophy, and mystery novels set in interesting locations.

Known (mostly) affectionately as an impatient little reindeer, Lowen did not believe in procrastinating and was someone you could always turn to when you needed something done. The most important thing to him was his relationships with the people he loved, especially his beloved spouse Kepper, and his daughters Aliya and MariRuth. Lowen aspired to be a mensch, and we believe he made it.

A celebration of life and reception will take place on Saturday, October 26th from 10 am to 12 pm at the Multnomah Friends Meetinghouse at 4312 SE Stark St, Portland, OR 97215.

In lieu of flowers, donations of warm socks are welcome.