Lebanon
It gave the boys ample opportunities to discuss life.
“The lights went out at night and our parents thought we were sleeping,” Bill Rowell said. “But we were talking until midnight, growing as brothers.”
The Rowell children were raised within an active, service-minded family, and the same philosophy guided Don Rowell, who died April 9, 2017, at 72, throughout his life.
“Our parents were very involved in the community growing up, so we had models,” Bill said. “My grandfather was a state senator, so to participate and give back to the community was instilled in us as kids.”
Don, who would later go on to embody the nature of giving unto others as a longtime resident of Lebanon, grew up in an environment that was also musical.
“Music and faith were both central in our home,” said Bill Rowell, the former director of bands at UMass-Amherst. “Our father was a church choir director for 26 years. … He knew how to engage the people in his choirs.”
Don and his siblings grew up singing in choirs, a passion he continued to pursue throughout his years. He also played the trumpet.
“Our father gave us a love of music and golf,” Bill said. “Two things we could enjoy our entire lives.”
Don also enjoyed playing football and basketball. He was a captain on both teams at Newport’s Towle High School. His senior football season ended in storybook fashion with Rowell, a quarterback, throwing the winning touchdown pass late in a 1961 state championship game.
“For a young person to be an outstanding athlete and have a passion for singing is unusual,” Bill said. “It shows how well-balanced his life was.”
Don left high school with more than just athletic and academic accolades (he was third in class rank). By the time he headed off to Bentley College destined for a career in accounting, Rowell had fallen in love with his high school sweetheart and soon-to-be wife, Doreen Goyotte.
Rowell set up shop as a local accountant after graduating from Bentley, which is now a university, and which a son and grandson would both attend. He went to work for the now defunct Smith, Batchelder and Rugg, and became a partner. When the firm closed its doors, the certified public accountant worked as a CFO for several local companies. He eventually went out on his own, setting up an office behind the Lebanon library. The organized accountant was loyal to his clients, and vice-versa.
“He kept up on clients,” said David Rowell, the youngest of Don’s three sons. “Even last year he was doing taxes for various people. He never had the heart to say ‘find someone else.’ His clients were like family to him.”
Don’s personal and professional priorities were often aligned.
“I vividly remember a sense of ‘do the right thing,’ ” David said. “He was an accountant, so he was kind of Type A. … We never played fast and loose with our financial matters. He instilled in us a sense of responsibility.”
Don and Doreen, both members of the Lebanon Rotary Club, were active foster parents and hosted numerous youngsters from the Fresh Air Fund and A Better Chance (ABC) organizations. Both programs brought kids out of the inner-city to experience life in the country for various lengths of time. The Rowells, who also coached youth baseball together, helped many children by offering interim foster care.
“I just took it for granted back then,” said David Rowell. “I didn’t know who these kids were. Some of them were in crisis and they would just stay one night. One girl stayed a few months. … It wasn’t until later I realized how profound it was; how giving (my parents) were.”
David and his brothers, Daniel and Derrick, learned to share their parents with young people who needed the support of the Rowell family. Garlan Hoskin — Don’s friend, client and fellow Rotarian — expressed appreciation for the selfless couple.
“Both went above and beyond the call of duty to help people less fortunate then themselves,” Hoskin said. “They made a difference in Lebanon.”
The couple’s efforts were recognized by the Lebanon Rotary Club, which named Don its 1984 Citizen of the Year. The Rotary, where Don served a routine one-year presidential term, was a significant part of the Rowells’ life together. They were both dependable members.
“When he took on a project, he saw it to completion,” said Paul Boucher, a longtime Chamber of Commerce director and Rotary member in Lebanon.
Boucher offered a bit of insight on the criteria used to select a Citizen of the Year: “It’s someone you don’t see in the newspaper who quietly works behind the scenes doing good for the community.”
Generosity, with both time and money, was another characteristic attributed to Don.
“He was very generous,” said Tom Zuttermeister, who lived next door to the Rowells on Kinne Street, off Meriden Road, for two decades. “I would be in the Prouty every year and he always made a donation. He was very meticulous; one of the few people who would type up a check and then sign it by hand. He was a business person to the end.”
Rowell was also known for his sense of humor, which family and friends described as dry and witty.
“Any chance he got to crack a joke, he would,” David said. “If (other people) didn’t laugh, he didn’t care, he thought it was funny. … But usually everyone did, he was a pretty funny guy.”
Echoed Hoskin: “He had a sly sense of humor. Always very subtle and right on.”
The Rowells would occasionally escape their busy local lifestyle with summer trips to Lake Winnipesaukee and winter excursions on the slopes.
Back home, Rowell was a longtime member of the Bel Canto Chamber Singers and The Area Choir of Newport.
The latter, originally founded by his father, is a group represented by 20 churches in the greater Newport area. Rowell also belonged to the First Congregational Church of Lebanon and its choir.
David learned many things from his father including the importance of integrity, doing the right thing and being happy.
“He didn’t preach that, it’s just who he was,” David said. “I learned by emulating him. … Also to enjoy life, don’t take things so seriously that you forget to laugh.”
A closely knit family, the Rowells lost Doreen in 2003. Her strong bond with Don, solidified by 39 years of marriage, was evident to their youngest son.
“Another thing I remember him for is how much he loved my mother,” David said. “They were a team. I don’t think he fully recovered (from her death). I don’t think any of us have.”
Despite his heavy heart, Rowell retained a social connection through his church membership, choir participation and an occasional block party.
“A lot of the neighborhood would show up with food,” Zuttermeister recalled. “He made his grill available, but more importantly made his pool available. … Pretty much everyone congregated around that pool.”
Rowell, a grandfather of five, lived in the same house on Kinne Street for nearly 50 years. While neighbors, he and Zuttermeister assisted each other with periodic pool maintenance and snow removal.
Rowell, a soft-spoken leader-by-example, will be sorely missed by his many loved ones.
“We were close as kids and we’ve remained close in our adult lives,” his brother Bill said. “Even more now that we’re not raising families; you follow your kids’ interests.”
Don’s passing also brought Bill Rowell closer to his nephews during the twilight of their father’s life.
“I got to experience how Don played out in each of his three kids,” Bill said. “That was very meaningful.”
Adam Boffey can be reached at boffeyadam@gmail.com.