Category: Obituaries

Elizabeth Killary Fowler, 93, died Oct. 5 at Pioneer Ridge Assisted Living, in Lawrence, Kansas. The third of four sweet sisters, Libby was born Dec. 19, 1931 to Dr. Howard Frederick Killary and Gladys Emery Killary in Burlington, Vermont. As a child she was by all accounts a rascal, recalling fondly how her father in a mock rage would brandish a prop – a belt, a hickory switch, a ladle? – and chase her around the dining room table until they both burst with laughter. A local beauty, Libby was crowned Miss Burlington as a teenager before venturing to Columbia, Missouri to study art at Stephens College. Upon graduation she joined Trans World Airlines, based in Kansas City, starting as a flight attendant before transferring to the Ambassador Club, where a touring JFK once halted his retinue to read her name tag so he could thank her by name. One sweltering summer evening she and her friends sought the air-conditioned coolness of a jazz bar, and there they encountered Richard B. Fowler, junior, a social hellion and martini swilling rogue whose father was editor of The Kansas City Star. While Dick finished his time in the Navy and started at the Bank of Boston, the two dated when they found themselves in the same town, until Dick’s younger brother Lee surprised them both by announcing at a New Year’s Day party in the family home that they were engaged. Unable to find a graceful retreat, Libby married Dick in April 1961, and a few months later they transferred as expats with the bank to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After two years they returned to Kansas City to start a family, with a daughter in 1964 and a son in 1965. The children, being part rascal, part hellion, could pose challenges, but Libby’s love never wavered. Nor did the kindness for which she was famous. She laughed easily and often, making enduring friendships everywhere she went. She was incapable of saying anything unkind about anyone. At most, when pushed, she might allow that so-and-so had been “a little different.” In her later years she was a co-owner of Crabtree and Evelyn on the Country Club Plaza, and enjoyed occasional travels with her family. She remained unequivocally positive until the very end, even as her memory failed her. Reminded of a trip she had taken — to Kyoto, or Vancouver Island or Jackson Hole, she would invariably say, “Now that you mention it, I recall really enjoying that trip.” It’s doubtful she recalled anything, but in her mind all her forgotten memories were good ones, as that is how she lived each day. Libby is survived by a daughter, Stephanie Jewell and husband Glenn of Lawrence, Kansas; a son Brian Fowler and his wife Chiyoko, of Tokyo; and grandchildren Zoe Jewell, Amanda Fowler, Hunter Jewell, Matthew Fowler and Arthur Fowler; a sister Margaret Cotanch, of South Burlington, and many nephews and nieces. In lieu of a service, the family suggests she be remembered with a hearty toast and, if so moved, contributions to Planned Parenthood or Unity Temple on the Plaza.