After more than six decades with the Alabama Department of Transportation, Curtis Lowe is reaching another milestone.
The Dutton District administrator, who oversees maintenance of state routes in Jackson and DeKalb counties, turns 80 this weekend. Yet despite 62 years on the job, Lowe says retirement is still not on his mind.
“I don’t like to think about retirement, really,” Lowe said. “I like to think I’m still young, even though I can see the evidence every day that I’m not.”
Lowe joined ALDOT on May 26, 1964, just two months before his 18th birthday. “I graduated one night, and I went to work in the morning,” he said.
His first assignment was as an engineering assistant working on the construction of Interstate 59 in Attalla.
Lowe has served as district administrator, formerly known as district engineer, in Dutton since 1998. The position oversees state highway maintenance operations across Jackson and DeKalb counties.
His career has far exceeded his original plans. “It was my goal to retire out with 25 years and get another job and draw my money, but I didn’t do it,” Lowe said. “I just liked it too much, I reckon.”
Lowe is ALDOT’s second longest-serving employee, trailing only Deputy Chief of the Maintenance Bureau Ronny Pouncey, who joined the department two months earlier. Pouncey is also the longest-serving active employee in Alabama state government.
Lowe laughed off suggestions that he is trying to surpass Pouncey’s record.
“The joke is that I’m trying to outlast Ronny Pouncey to get the record, but I don’t really care,” he said. “Me and Ronny, we had a good laugh about it.”
Even a serious illness failed to change Lowe’s outlook. After surviving a near-fatal case of Legionnaires’ disease several years ago, he said his focus was never on retirement.
“It never did cross my mind, really. I just wanted to get well and get back to work,” Lowe said.
He returned to the office while still recovering, bringing along a portable oxygen unit. “I came back to work with my portable oxygen thing,” he said. “That shows dedication—or ignorance.”
A lifelong resident of the Albertville area, Lowe has been married to his wife, Patricia, for 55 years. The couple has two sons, Michael, 54, and Christopher, 50.
Outside of work, Lowe enjoys traveling, collecting knives, hunting, attending auctions and following sports.
When asked what he considers his greatest accomplishment during his career, Lowe initially answered with a laugh.
“Living through it all!”
Then he reflected on the opportunities he has had throughout his career.
“Being where I’m at now,” he said. “I’m grateful to the people who gave me a chance to be successful, and I’m proud to have come as far as I have for an old country boy. Just like I received help from folks who had confidence in me, I try to help younger folks, if they’ll take my advice. I try to steer them the right way to be successful in their career field.”
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