Hans Loewen - Obituary

ans Paul Loewen, 20 years old, a resident of Hampstead, NC, since 2006 and formerly of Idaho, Washington D.C., Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Rhode Island, died at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center on Saturday, March 29, 2014. Born on January 8, 1994 in Fall River, MA, Hans was a 3rd Class Midshipman (sophomore) at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Because Hans was an organ donor, his spirit will continue to be a part of this earthly world as his vibrant organs and tissues sustain many others. Our dear, sweet Hans was doing what Hans does best – having a blast and sharing adrenaline flow! Hans had forever been, with his parents’ support, encouragement, and vicarious participation, a calculating risk taker. Hans was a loving warrior, and we want our warriors to be risk takers, don't we? Hans did it the best. He was a kitesurfer, a rock climber, an extreme downhill longboarder, a surfer, a paddleboarder, a marksman, a parkourer, a unicyclist, a slackliner, a snowboarder, a DJ, a mountain climber, a mountain biker, an ice climber, a triathlete, a drummer, a reader, a comedian, a foster brother, our loved and loving son, brother, boyfriend, grandson, cousin and friend. He researched each of his passions with a passion and when he engaged in it he did it with intensity. On Saturday, March 22 Hans miscalculated as he engaged in one of his many sports and suffered a devastating brain injury, despite wearing his helmet, after longboarding beside a slowly moving vehicle and falling beneath it. Hans was a 2012 graduate of Topsail High School in Hampstead, NC. He was a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, and played drums for the Hampstead United Methodist and Topsail Presbyterian Churches. At the Naval Academy Hans was studying Oceanography, was Secretary of the Rock Climbing Club, and member of the Mountaineering Team and the America Nuclear Society. Hans is survived by his parents, Dr. Eric and Jennifer Loewen, and by his sister and best friend, Midshipman 1st Class (senior) Zatha Loewen, who will graduate from the Naval Academy in May and receive her commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is also survived by his grandparents CDR (Ret. USNA ’60) Robert and HelenMarr Johannesen, Jack and Janice (Loewen) Ramsthaler, his lovely girlfriend 3/C Midshipman Alexis Gamarra, and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. A celebration of Hans's life will be held from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 8, at the United States Naval Academy Chapel, where his funeral service will also be held at 12 noon on Wednesday, April 9. Interment will follow in the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration be made for donations in honor of Hans to: The Living Legacy Foundation, ATTN: Ann Bromery, 1730 Twin Springs Road, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21227; The United States Naval Academy Midshipmen Welfare Fund, c/o Comptroller Gift Fund Division, 181 Wainwright Road, Annapolis, MD 21402 (make checks payable to U.S. Treasury and include in the memo line: MWF/ In Memory of Hans Loewen); or The Skatebarn, Inc. (Pump Track), 14921 U.S. Hwy 17, Hampstead, NC 28443. “Flow with kindness. Flow with love. Flow with nothing. I have found it all.” Akiine Kivelä Ngarambe