Chrystal Fowler-Griffith sat with her family as they sifted through a box of old photos of her father, Ronald Fowler, Jr.
The images reflected his days as a kid, father and grandfather. They showed his thick beard and his pensive blue eyes.
She pointed out how he looked identical to her older brother, Ron Fowler III, and how playful her father was with her daughter Sienna when she was young.
“He was very kind, willing to help anybody,” Fowler-Griffith said.
“Even if he needed help more,” her brother added.
Fowler-Griffith, her two siblings and her daughter looked back on his life after it was cut short on Dec. 1. First responders attempted to rescue him from a house fire in Boscawen, which displaced multiple residents.
Fowler was forced to move out of his Concord apartment in 2020 after the landlord put the building up for sale and looked to renovate his one unit into two. Through a friend, he found an open space in a Boscawen complex that he lived in for the last five years.
He became close with the owner of the Boscawen home, but she passed away a few months ago and ownership transferred to her son, Gary Bailey. After that, he was considering other housing options, Fowler-Griffith said.
His children said he was always a hands-on worker, bouncing between jobs involving mechanics, maintenance, cleaning and even delivering newspapers. For 15 years, he worked at the Sea Latch Inn in Maine.
Over the last several years, they said he didn’t take great care of his health and couldn’t afford to see a doctor. He suffered from a pinched nerve in his back that reduced his mobility.
Ron Fowler III, 42, said his dad was always looking to learn something new — from electrical work to coding to politics. He remembered his dad having piles of books that he collected in order to teach himself a new skill.
When the younger Fowler was in middle school, his dad attended Manchester Community College, and later transferred to New Hampshire Technical Institute. Fowler said his father’s dedication rubbed off on him to excel in his own studies. He went on to receive an associate’s degree in business and owns a property maintenance company.
“I didn’t do that great before that in school, but once I saw him putting all that effort in, it inspired me,” he said. “I was an honors student, and I attribute that to him.”
Breanna Martel, the youngest of the siblings at 34, shared memories of her dad playing with her in the pool, helping her with elementary school assignments and having inside jokes only between them. Now in adulthood, she said they shared a love of Christian music.
She recalled particular memories of him visiting her at school every Friday from first to fifth grade and looking at all of her class work and art projects.
“I loved every Friday,” Martel said.
Fowler-Griffith, 41, said he was a good father, attending every presentation, performance, sports game and graduation they had growing up — even if he showed up late sometimes. But she said he especially shined as a grandfather for her 18-year-old daughter and Ron Fowler III’s son, 12-year-old Avery.
Sienna Griffith said she and her grandpa were best friends. When she was nine years old and had a fascination with spiders, Fowler didn’t hesitate to buy her two tarantulas from the pet store that they then hid from her mother — who was deathly afraid of spiders. Anything else she wanted, he would help her get it.
As she grew up, they still hung out and talked regularly, as they lived only a few minutes away from one another.
“I would forget he was my grandpa,” Griffith said. “I was talking about my boy problems, he would talk to me about his girl problems. We were just two high school girls.”
His family will always remember the indelible details of his life — his wildly long beard hair, his knack for taking care of plants and animals, his beloved 1968 white Chevrolet Camaro and his adoration for The Beatles.
Something that the family has relied on is their faith, which was also a large part of Fowler’s life. Fowler-Griffith remembered when her grandparents on both sides started to get older, and how sad they would be when their life partner passed away.
She found comfort in envisioning them being reunited in heaven. She finds that same comfort now, imagining her father seeing his parents and their childhood dog, Angel, again.
“As much as it sucks that we’re down here without our dad, I know that he’s where he’s meant to be and he’s where he deserves to be,” Fowler-Griffith said. “We’ll see him again and that’s comforting to know. Yes, we’ll spend some time on Earth without him, but we’ll get to see him again, and it’s going be amazing.”
The family started a GoFundMe page with a goal of $11,000 to cover the funeral costs. Ronald Fowler, Jr.’s celebration of life will be held on Jan. 4 at 4 p.m. at Grace Capital Church in Pembroke, the church he regularly attended.
