04 Feb00:00am
Deepest condolences – From Gilbert Wong & Mark Wong
He was more than a Headmaster and a teacher …..
He was a great friend.
With deepest condolences.
From
Gilbert Wong &
Mark Wong
+852 27135268
He was more than a Headmaster and a teacher …..
He was a great friend.
With deepest condolences.
From
Gilbert Wong &
Mark Wong
Although I don’t know you but I hope you do rest in peace & a great loss to your family & friends.
With love from a colleague of one of your niece.
Jean
During my 1st day of school at DBS in Form 1D back in September of 1974; our class was particularly noisy as it was filled with half of us that knew each other from Diocesan Preparatory School. A tall stately gentleman with grey hair walked in and said in a commanding voice “Sit down and shut up. Your teacher will be here shortly”. That was my first encounter with Mr. Lowcock. I spent only one more year in Form 2A at DBS. I remember the excitement of winning 1st place for the School Orchestra, and playing table tennis for C Grade Sykes House during that year. I left the school when my family immigrated to the United States in July of 1976.
I appreciate Mr. Lowcock for his contributions to DBS for instilling the importance of character, healthy competition, and striving to be the best not only in academics but in sports and music. He encouraged students to be all rounded. I have no doubt that he played a huge part in my academic achievement and character formation during my short stint at the school. I offer my deepest condolences to his family.
Arthur Yip, CPA (would have been Class of 1979)
Los Angeles, CA, USA
To Sir With Love
January 26, 2012 was a sad day. A day when we lost a great educator, an inspiring mentor and a man with a big heart – the day when our beloved headmaster, Mr. Sydney James Lowcock rested in peace.
That day, it felt as if there was a dark cloud hovering over the waiting area outside the ICU where old boys gathered together with a sunken heart, knowing very well that they could be walking alongside with their most respected headmaster on the last mile of his journey.
To me, Mr. Lowcock was truly a great educator. He taught us not to be a student scoring high marks in exams, surviving the 6 to 7 years academically but instead, living perhaps the 60 or 70 years proudly thereafter in how to becoming a better man and being a student of life.
He taught us to be brave in meeting challenges head-on and even braver in admitting our shortcomings and mistakes, picking ourselves up in failures and moving on unscathed.
To a great extent, he’s also a rebel. I remember in one occasion, a teacher brought a student into his office and recommended the student to be caned for misbehaviour. After hearing both sides of the story, Mr. Lowcock turned to the teacher and said, “it seems that you are in the wrong and that the student was in the right!”
I also remember he once told me that being a Prefect, you need to always remember “4Fs” – to be Friendly, Fair and Firm. If the first 3Fs don’t work, use the 4th one!
Indeed, you rarely see that kind of inspiring teachings and that style of charisma easily nowadays. To me, that’s what DBS spirit was built on and why DBS had become such an aspiring name.
In spite of his stern image as a headmaster, Mr. Lowcock is someone who has a big heart. Not only would he use his own money to help students who can’t afford their school fees or pay for their uniform, he would even consider the students’ emotional reaction towards such generosity. To avoid hurting the students’ ego and dignity, he would quietly open a bank account in their name and deposit money into it for their use.
This is the Mr. Lowcock whom I respect and this is the headmaster whom I adore.
It was an odd feeling when we were waiting to bid final farewell to this loving figure in the Ceremony Room at the hospital moments after his passing away. The room was unusually quiet and time seemed to have stood still, evident by the clock on the wall which was not moving. There were much sorrow but I thought there were even more love in the room.
Mr. Lowcock, thank you for shaping us who we are and showing us the DBS spirit. We are grateful in having the privilege of knowing you and leaving us with a beautiful memory of what life is truly about.
To Sir With Love
Davie Mok
Class of 1981
When I learned about this sad news today I can barely concentrate on my work.
I remember there was once when I passed by his office and he called me in. He asked me if I know who Bing Crosby is, and I replied he is an entertainer. That’s it! Maybe he wanted to prove something.
I’d never begin to appreciate him until many years after graduated. In fact after leaving school for a few decades, we are still very proud of this place where we grew up, not only because of the academic, sports and other achievements, but the way we are shaped and nurtured.
…
I feel bad for not having the chance to say “Thank you” to this respectful Headmaster and real ‘C-Fu’. I can only dedicate this song to him to express my gratitude, and I hope you all like it too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oni0tO_HN30&feature=related
C-Fu
Raymond Tse
Sharings of Class 1960.
—– Original Message —–
From: Jsc JSCF
Sent: Friday, January 27, 2012 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: Mr James Lowcock passed away
Dear Classmates:
I learned with a heavy heart at the passing of our beloved headmaster,
Mr. James Lowcock. With gratitude, respect, admiration and humility,
I send my condolence to his family and loved ones and I celebrate his
life and legacy.
As mortals, we all face the inevitable journey of exiting from this
lovely planet. Remembering the fortitude, humor, wisdom and courage
of Mr. Lowcock, I am certain that he walked tall in his exit journey
with pride, peace and joy in celebrating his legacy that he had made
this world a better place for future generations.
May he rest in peace.
Jack
Jack S. C. Fong, MD, CM, MSc, FAAP, FRCP(C)
Chairman (1985-2008), Dept of Pediatrics, Danbury Hospital
Member, Board of Directors, Leir Retreat Center
Clin. Asso. Prof. of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine
Asso. Clin. Prof. of Pediatrics, New York Medical College
From: Grant Wong
I echo what many of you have already said. I am glad I had the
opportunity to visit him in 2010. He looked very well at that time,
but we all know how fast things can change. May he rest in peace and
go with the fond memory of so many devoted boys whom he loved and
educated.
> Date: Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:50:21 +0800
> Subject: Re: Mr James Lowcock passed away
> From: quonpaul@gmail.com
> To: keith leung
> i am overwhelmed.
> lowcock was close to me as a teacher and he always managed to
> recognize me evertime we visited him.
> i feel that a part of me has died together with his passing.
> to him, i am always kwan wai kit.
>
>
>
>
> On 1/26/12, Keith Leung wrote:
> > co co:
> > I am glad that you are so close to him. He surely is a good teacher
> > and (should be) friend. I am sure many book friends will attest to that. As
> > you know, I was reluctant to go to the reunion because of the long trip but
> > I am glad I did it and managed to see him after so many years. He looked
> > very good when we visited him. In retrospect I am glad I did, because in
> > life, there are things we have to do. Like I teach my kids, “Do the right
> > thing in life, regardless of the results and cost/benefit analysis”. So I
> > really glad I did it.
> > During my high schools year at DBS, I still remember Lowcock came into the
> > class with his cane. Then he started teaching, no notes nor textbooks. He
> > started with the “Archimedes Principle”. I listened to him and said to
> > myself “Gee, this sh*%t makes sense. I like it”. So physics became my
> > favorite subject because of him. I never have to study for exams. Even
> > though I didn’t get distinction on physics (only Math and Chinese) on School
> > Cert, I did get one in Senior Matric. So I guess I should give Lowcock the
> > credit. For without him, I probably would have gone into some
> > accounting/business/chemistry/biology that kind of stuff. Or, worse, I might
> > become one of those suicidal dentists or even physcians !
> > Yeah, we are heading into 古稀之年, what remains is just pleasant memories,
> > memories etc…that is not a bad thing, either.
> >
> > Keith
> >
> > From: Kenneth Co
> >
> > I last spoke to Mr Lowcock on Monday, First day of the Luna New Year to wish
> > him happiness and a good year. He sounded normal and quite happy to hear
> > from me. Little did I know that it would be the very last time I would speak
> > with him. His voice is still fresh im my mind! He will be dearly missed!
> >
> > CCP
> >
> >From: Keith Leung
> > I am so sorry to hear it. He is my favorite teacher.
> >>
> >>Will miss him, even though I managed to see him last Nov 2010 at the
> >> reunion.
> >>
> >>Keith
> >>
> >>
> >>January 26, 2012
> >>
> >>Dear All,
> >>
> >>Benjamin Fattedad has just called me and asked me to give all of you the
> >> bad and sad news that our former headmaster Mr James Lowcock passed away
> >> this morning after not felling well yesterday.
> >>
> >>Benjamin will keep us informed when he has more to tell us.
> >>
> >>Meanwhile, we shall pray for James Lowcock who is now Rest in Peace.
> >>
> >>P.S. Please notify other fellow schoolmates (and friends of DBS) who are
> >> not on this list of recipients.
> >>
> >>Andrew Ma
> >>
