Celesta Lowe

{{Short description|American historian and librarian}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Celesta Lowe

| image = CelestaLowe.png

| alt = a middle-aged white woman with short wavy hair smiles

| caption = Lowe in 1965

| birth_name = Celesta Adelaid Lisle

| birth_date = {{Birth year|1917}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{Death date|2004|12|09}}

| death_place =

| nationality = American

| other_names =

| occupation = writer and librarian

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| children = 4, including Janet Lowe

}}

Celesta Lowe (née Lisle) (1917-2004) was an American historian, columnist and librarian. She was the first director of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas library's special collections.

Lowe was born in Nevada in 1917.{{cite web |title=Lowe, Celesta, 1917-2004 |url=https://special.library.unlv.edu/taxonomy/term/17476 |website=special.library.unlv.edu |access-date=14 December 2022}} Lowe's mother, Celestia A. Lisle, was born in Payson, Utah, and married John Quincy Lisle in 1907.{{cite web |title=Lisle, Celesta A., 1888-1981 |url=https://special.library.unlv.edu/taxonomy/term/16683 |website=special.library.unlv.edu |access-date=15 December 2022}} Lowe moved with her family to California as a child and graduated from El Monte High School in 1934. She married David Walker "Deke" Lowe in Nevada in 1935 and the couple went on to own and operate the Goodsprings Hotel. Together they had several children, including author Janet Lowe.{{cite web |title=Janet Lowe Obituary (2020) - San Diego, Ca, CA - San Diego Union-Tribune |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/name/janet-lowe-obituary?id=6639352 |website=Legacy.com |access-date=15 December 2022}}

Lowe founded the Southern Nevada Historical Society in 1959 with Maryellen Vallier Sadovich.{{cite news |title=Memorial service Friday for longtime Nevada historian |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/memorial-service-friday-for-longtime-nevada-historian/ |access-date=14 December 2022 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=20 November 2011}} In 1961 Lowe was appointed as a library technician at the southern division of the University of Nevada.{{cite news |title=Regents Approve New Posts |work=Nevada State Journal |date=28 February 1961 |page=6}} She had previously worked at the Nevada State Library Department. Lowe was named the head of the UNLV special collections department when it was founded in 1967.{{cite news |title=Historian Lowe, member of pioneer family, dies |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2004/dec/14/historian-lowe-member-of-pioneer-family-dies/ |access-date=14 December 2022 |work=lasvegassun.com |date=14 December 2004 |language=en}}

In addition to her work at the UNLV, Lowe wrote for numerous magazines including Desert Magazine, Nevada Highways, and Westways. She also authored two long-running columns - Echoes from the Archives" and "Southwestern Bookshelf" - for the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Lowe died December 9, 2004, in Henderson, Nevada, at the age of 87.{{cite web |title=Celesta Lowe Obituary (2004) - Las Vegas, NV - Las Vegas Review-Journal |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/lvrj/name/celesta-lowe-obituary?pid=142002593 |website=Legacy.com |access-date=14 December 2022}} In 2007 was named to the Roll of Honour of the Nevada's Women's History Project.{{cite web |title=Roll of Honor – Nevada Women's History Project |url=https://nevadawomen.org/the-project/roll-of-honor/ |website=nevadawomen.org |access-date=14 December 2022}} The Celeste Lowe papers are held by the UNLV's Special Collections and Archives.{{cite web |title=Celesta Lowe Papers |url=https://special.library.unlv.edu/ark%3A/62930/f1v590 |website=special.library.unlv.edu |access-date=14 December 2022}}