Dr. Dave Lozowski is one of the folks who have more than one vocation. First he was called to be a doctor, to heal people, and now he is a deacon. He started off with a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton, however. “I initially went into engineering because I was good at math, but I didn’t find it a good fit,” Deacon Lozowski said. “My younger brother graduated from medical school and helped to talk me into medicine which I felt would be a way to help people and avoid working at a desk.”
Deacon Lozowski went back to school and earned his D.O. from Ohio University and now he is a family practitioner at Coshocton County Memorial Hospital and a member of Sacred Heart Church in Coshocton, where he and Brenda, his wife of 23 years, live with daughters Rachel and Elizabeth, 19; Gretchen, 16; and MaryAnn, 13.
When he leaves his office, Lozowski switches from the complicated vocation of practicing modern medicine to the equally-complicated home farm where his family raises most of the food they eat. “We have a hobby farm on which we raise sheep, a few steers, chickens and vegetables,” he said. “We grow most of our own food and we also boil maple syrup. Some years we even find time to get honey from our hives.”
As with most deacons, Deacon Lozowski has the ability to manage a life full of a variety of responsibilities and interests. He is a Eucharistic Minister, Lector, Chairman of the Finance Committee and leads Altar Server training and assists with confirmation formation at Sacred Heart.
In addition, he volunteers at Hope Clinic, a Christian-based medical clinic for the indigent in Coshocton County and he organized a free community garden on land owned by his medical group. And yet he still managed to hear the call to the diaconate in spite of the busyness. “It was a gradual process for me,” said Deacon Lozowski. “It got to the point where I felt every homily was talking directly to me.”
And still, after hearing the call, he wanted to be certain. “I made a quasi-bargain with God, that if he really wanted me to be a deacon he needed to send someone to tell me I should be a deacon,” he said. “Not a week later my then 13-year-old daughter came up to me and told me I should be a deacon if that was what God wanted me to do.”