Gym At St. John Fisher Named In Memory Of Conner Lowry

CHICAGO (BEVERLY) — Modie Lavin remembers the first text her son, Conner Lowry, sent after he was sent to Afghanistan as a United States Marine in October of 2011. "He said that if anything ever happened to him, make sure to donate to St. John Fisher," Lavin remembers.

Lowry was running combat operations in Afghanistan when he was killed on March 1, 2012. He was 24 years old.

Lavin said her son, a 2002 St. John Fisher alum, was one of the "proudest Fisher Falcons" there ever was. And now the gymnasium at the school is named in his memory.

A ceremony on Saturday recognized not only Lowry's service but also the Conner T. Lowry Memorial Fund, of which the committee decided to donate a significant amount of funds to help upgrade the gymnasium at St. John Fisher.

The school itself then decided to rename the gym the "Conner T. Lowry Gymnasium."

As part of the improvements, Lavin said the gym now has a new floor, updated signage and has been completely re-painted.

"Conner's motto was 'Live Life Large,' and we have added an anti-bullying theme in making it 'Live Life Kind'," Lavin said, noting the wording at center-court that reads 'Conner T. Lowry Gymnasium: Live Life Kind.'

"Having that kind of theme that is spread throughout the school... that's accomplishing something that's in addition to honoring my son," she said.