A Rochester man's life was drawn to a quaint close

Oct. 21—ROCHESTER — For his funeral, Lowell Meyer requested a horse-drawn hearse for his procession and his family made sure that wish was honored for him.

Lowell Richard Meyer was 84 years old when he passed away on Oct. 12, 2023, due to complications of Lewy Body Dementia. He spent his entire life in the Rochester community where he spent most of his years as a farmer.

"The farm that he grew up on was about a mile across the field of the farm that he bought when he married my mom," said Jennifer Meyer, daughter of Lowell. "My grandma would stand on her front steps. And my mom would stand on our back steps and if they waved a dish rag at each other, they could see each other, kitty corner across the field."

After Lowell's first wife, Sherry, passed away in 2002, Jennifer remembers driving to visit her brother in Kellogg. On the way there is where they would see a horse-drawn hearse for the first time.

"So my brother lives in Kellogg and after my mom passed 21 years ago, we would drive through Plainview to get to my brother's house," said Meyer. "I think probably the first time my dad passed by the Schleicher Funeral Home in Plainview, he saw that horse-drawn carriage and he's like 'That's what I want for my funeral when my time comes.'"

The horse-drawn coach was first purchased by August Schleicher's grandfather in 1894. It has gone through two restorations in the 129 years of use for Schleicher Funeral Homes and has been used as far away as Arlington, Texas.

Lowell thought the carriage was classy and knew it was what he wanted for when he passed. This wish was something the family knew they had to honor for him. It was also a way for Lowell's life to come full circle in his daughter's eyes.

Lowell spent a majority of his life dairy farming and raising animals. One of his first jobs was taking care of draft horses before the use of tractors, so it was only fitting for horses to carry him to his resting place.

"One of my dad's earliest chores on the farm was taking care of draft horses," said Jennifer. "When they would come in from the field at the end of the day, they couldn't drink too much water before they ate or they would get really sick. So his job was to sit on top of the fence and watch the horses drinking their water and count how many goats they took and when it was enough, then he had to take them and put them in their pen and feed them their grain and hay."

Lowell remarried in 2007 to Patti Kirkham. He had sold her a golden retriever puppy and asked her out after calling to check in on the dog just a week later.

"I am so filled with joy for my dad because he had Lewy Body Dementia and that's the kind of dementia where you have hallucinations," said Jennifer. "The last six years since he was first diagnosed were really hard. The last three he really went down fast, just constant hallucinations and the medications did the best they could. God bless my stepmother for being a retired nurse from Mayo Clinic. She took the best possible care. He never went into a nursing home or a care facility. He was with her until he took his last breath."

Lowell's friends and family gathered for the funeral service before he was loaded into the coach. Close family friend John Kruesel played taps as Lowell's casket was loaded in the coach. Lowell had served in the National Guard. Members of his family also decided to walk the two miles from Macken Funeral Home to Oakwood Cemetery as one final tribute to him.