Beloved antiques store owner battling lung disease

PALMER — Six years ago, Alaskan Paula Lowe lost her fight with brain cancer. Her husband is a long-time Alaska resident and owner of Bill’s Country Antiques in Palmer.

Now, Bill Lowe, father of two adult daughters and an 11-year-old son, has been diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a lung disease with no definite cure.

IPF is a hardening of the lung tissue that makes breathing progressively difficult over time. Smoking is the most common cause, however Lowe, who has never smoked, attributes his IPF to his five years as a volunteer firefighter.

“I started getting shortness of breath about two years ago. I’ve always been in excellent shape; I could run and jump and then I just got to where I couldn’t breathe anytime I was doing something,” he said.

Now he needs an oxygen tank to help him breathe.

Lowe plans to get on the waiting list for a double lung transplant, but the wait can be up to a year. He is currently relocating from Palmer to live near the Rochester Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. His son is staying with family for the next few weeks, but will move in with him once he is settled.

Lowe has lived in Alaska since 1967, when his father moved his family to the state due to the booming oil business. He has been collecting antiques since 18 and started his business of selling them 21 years ago. After his lung transplant he plans to come back to Alaska to reopen the store.

For now, Lowe needs donations to support his son, his treatment and living near the clinic. A GoFundMe account has been created in his name, and so far, has raised slightly more than $1,000.

“One of Bill's strongest traits is his determination to stay alive and see his young son grow into maturity. Bill told me, ‘I will beat this!’” said Michael Hankins, Lowe’s close friend.

“I guess I just want people to pray. That’s about it really,” Lowe said when asked what help he needed.