Mt. Pleasant couple dies in small plane crash

MT. PLEASANT - Whether it was saving the town's movie theater or creating new housing units downtown, Scott and Amy Lowe always kept the Mt. Pleasant community's best interest in mind.

'When I think of Scott and Amy, they're the epitome of Mt. Pleasant people - incredibly kind and good to work with,” Kristi Perry, executive director of the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce, said.

The Lowes were killed Sunday afternoon when their small plane crashed and exploded near Grand Glaize Airport in central Missouri. The couple were the only people on board the plane when it crashed and no other injuries were reported, according to a news release from the City of Osage Beach.

The Lowes were in the southern state to celebrate a 55th wedding anniversary with Scott's parents, Tom and Betty.

Perry worked closely with the Lowes when the couple owned Main Street Cinemas, now the Temple Theatre. The couple were finalists for the Chamber's Small Business of the Year award in 2015.

'They were true family people as well. A lot of Mt. Pleasant people will miss them,” Perry added.

Lisa Oetken, director of Main Street, said the couple were 'great community members,” and 'did a lot for downtown.”

One of their biggest contributions included buying and renovating the town's theater, which the Lowes purchased in late-2011, according to Oetken. The couple later sold the theater to Eisentraut Theatres in the summer of 2019.

'If they hadn't purchased and saved the theater for us, we would have lost it. They remodeled the whole building and created the loft apartments above it,” Oetken said. In total, the couple added 11 new upper story housing units to the town.

The Lowes also purchased and renovated a building on the west side of the square where antique store The Vintage Raven now sits.

Sam Riepe, co-owner of the store and Scott's high school classmate in Mt. Pleasant Community High School's Class of 1989, said the couple were instrumental in helping the business navigate and stay afloat during the pandemic.

'They were great landlords for us, in particular with everything going on. They were really helpful and supportive,” Riepe said.

Riepe recalled ways the couple tried to give back to the community, including running kids movies at reduced prices when they owned the theater.

'It's really heartbreaking. Scott was an avid pilot. I don't know if he owned his own plane, but he told me how much he enjoyed flying. He had a job where he had to fly a lot and he enjoyed being able to do it himself,” Riepe added. At the time of their deaths, Scott worked as the senior vice president of sales at Dansons and Amy was the executive vice president of Packers Sanitation Services.

A witness reported seeing th plane crash and explode in a wooded area, according to KMIZ TV in Columbia, Mo.

'This plane was kind of acting odd, and then all the sudden it just kinda went up and rolled over then went straight down, then I took off running down there,” Alan Blair told the TV station.

He said he saw an explosion before he could get to the plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have taken over the investigation.

Jen Schwartz, a family friend of the Lowes, remembers being included in the family at a time when her home life was not especially good.

Schwartz said she was 'taken under [Tom Lowe's] wing” as a high schooler when Tom served as the Mt. Pleasant Community High School principal. She added that his children, including Scott, were 'just as sweet to her.”

When Schwartz's daughter was looking for her first apartment, Scott and Amy would become her first landlords.

'I was nervous even though I live in New London, and she would be here [in town]. They told me ‘Don't worry, we'll take care of her,'” Schwartz said.

'I'm going to miss seeing them walk around, asking me ‘How are the kids?' We all spent time with them,” she said.