Lowell Roland Chocola

As Written by: Lowell Born and raised in Chicago, IL where I attended catholic school from kindergarten through the first year of high school. From the age of 11, my sister and I were raised by our father, and his girlfriend. I was raised Roman Catholic, so whenever I felt alone, abandoned or lonely I would go into the chapel, to the grotto which had a waterfall, to talk and pray to the Virgin Mary. I identified with the Virgin Mary because she and I have the same birthday, September 8th. During this time I remember being an altar boy. At age 15 I lied about my age so that I could get a job (alongside my dad) to help support the family at a company that packaged C-rations for the Army in Millington, IL. At age 16 we moved back to Chicago and once again I lied about my age so that I could be hired at a warehouse filling UPS orders. I rented a small room at the YMCA so that I could work during the day. At night I attend a private high school, graduated from high school in 1954. On my 19th birthday I went to the draft board and volunteered; there was some talk about the G.I. Bill being discontinued and I wanted very much to go to college. After being sent to Camp Chafee, Arkansas for basic training as a clerk typist I was sent to Camp Kilmer, Puerto Rico. After 2 years in Puerto Rico (1956) I was sent back to Chicago working as a clerk processing soldiers for discharge, but was released shortly upon return so that I could attend the University of Illinois. In 1958 I enrolled at the University of Idaho so that I could get my degree in Geology, I graduated in 1961. After graduation I hitchhiked my way back to Chicago, it was here I was first employed as a chemist for Desoto, Inc., which made paint for Sears. Since I didn't have a chemist degree I was paid a much smaller wage as a lab technician. It was during this time that I met Florence. We were married in 1963 and had three children together, our first son died at only 15 days old; Lynda was born in 1965 and Wayne followed in 1966. In order to get my Chemistry degree I enrolled in night school at Northwestern and worked during the day. I graduated in 1976 and went to work for Ceramco, of which I was a partner and stockholder, my job was to invent coatings for the Foundry Industry along with running the plant, manufacturing the products, shipping, receiving and purchasing. Eventually I focused on sales and development of new products; within two years my sales were two million dollars and I developed a brand new, almost revolutionary technology which surpassed and leapfrogged the old technology which resulted in a technical breakthrough, changing the entire foundry industry. In 1988 I left Ceramco and joined Acme Resin. Here I was put in charge of the Research Dept working on and developing new and better coatings. In 1984 I was transferred to the plant in Madison Ohio. In 1987 Acme was purchased by the Borden Co and the plant in Madison was closed therefore they transferred me to the plant in Toledo. In 1989 I left to work for the Dolphin Co who manufactured sealants and paints for buses and trucks. In 1991 I and some of the employees purchased the company from the retiring owners. It's during this time that I invented a very unique undercoating which was a new technology and outperformed all other products on the market, including Zebart. When I retired in 1999 sales were over 3 million dollars a year. I was also celebrating that an investment that I had made along with my friend, Bill DeWood, in 1990 to start a new company, Refcotech, which specialized in foundry coatings, had sales of 26 million dollars. I'm a history buff, particularly the Civil War and Roman History. I've enjoyed traveling to the battle grounds and watching the re-enactments. My favorite TV show is Jeopardy; I prefer classical or easy listening music, attending plays, concerts and a good movie, although very few exist anymore. I loved that my home in Ohio had a large in ground, heated swimming pool which I swam in one to two hours daily and a large kitchen that I enjoyed making up new recipes. I had a Lhasa Apso named Tabitha, which was my dearest friend for 15 years, I cried the day I had to put her to sleep. When my children were 12 and 13 we took a seven day rafting trip through the Grand Canyon riding the rapids; this was the best vacation that I ever had. I have been to London, twice, Rome, Athens Greece, Israel, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Cancun, Hawaii and all the states except Alaska, Maine and Rhode Island. I have a book titled '1000 Places To See Before You Die', I still have 970 places to see before I go to the 'Big Foundry' in the sky. I'm preceded by my parents, siblings, Pat Olszewski and Gloria Agate I leave behind my children, Lynda Jackson, Leesburg, VA, Wayne Chocola, East Wenatchee; siblings, Sandy Schneider, Naples, Fl, Claudette (Ken) Wilkenson, Alford FL, John (June) Verkonski, Yuba, CA, Gene (Sylvia) Verkonski, Mesa, AZ, Ginger (Fritz) Litp, Ontario, NY; seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Arrangements are in the care of Heritage Memorial Chapel, East Wenatchee. You are invited to view his online tribute at: www.HeritageMemorialChapel.com

Lowell Roland Chocola

September 8, 1935 - February 6, 2014