13 years after promise, state honors local man

WASILLA — Earlier this month the state gave a second name to a stretch of Blue Lupine Drive, creating the Lowell J. Ray Memorial Corridor.

The designation is meant to honor Lowell Ray, who died of a heart attack in 1999. It’s his family’s land the state bought to build a good portion of the road. He served in the Navy for 16 years and the Air Force for 10, working when he got out as a civilian contractor on the DEW line of Cold War-era early warning radars in the state.

“He spent most of his life working military radars looking north in defense of America,” said his son, Ken Ray. “They put both signs on the north side of the road. He’s still looking north.”

According to Ken, his father joined the Navy in 1947 and first came to Alaska in 1963. His redesign of the DEW line “saved the federal government an estimated $12 million for each of the 12 stations in Alaska in 1987.” Lowell Ray also spent significant time educating the country’s allied nations on how to extend the life of radar systems.

He said he was proud the state has taken action to honor his father in this way.

“The Legislature came through for me so I’m very proud and tickled. Not many things get passed unanimously,” he said.

But if the Legislature did come through for him, it was a long time coming, according to a press release from Rep. Bill Stoltze, R-Chugiak.

“In March 2000, while negotiating a right of way acquisition during the pre-construction phase of the Parks Highway upgrade between Wasilla and the Glenn Highway interchange, the state of Alaska agreed to name a section of the frontage road along the highway for Lowell J. Ray,” the press release states.

According to the narrative from Stoltze’s office, once the upgrade was completed the frontage road was handed over to the Mat-Su Borough, which didn’t know of the agreement and had instead named the road Blue Lupine Drive.

“After researching the situation and my staff looking into Lowell’s background, it quickly became obvious that he was much deserving of this special recognition,” Stoltze says in a press release about the Aug. 21 unveiling of the signs. “Lowell committed his life to serving this country and the Mat-Su community, whether it was through military service, as a civilian Defense Department employee or through community organizations.”

Ray said he’s pleased the state kept the promise it made to his father.

“This is not about me, it’s about my dad and a promise the state made me when they widened the Parks Highway,” he said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.