Bert Lowell Lennon

Colonel Bert Lowell Lennon of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, passed away on March 11, 2026, after a courageous battle with leukemia. Born on February 7, 1948, in Clarksville, Texas, he was the second son of the late DeWitt and Louise (Chapman) Lennon. Bert spent his early years on a small cattle ranch in eastern Red River County, where he attended school in the Avery district and graduated in 1966. His senior year was marked by notable achievements, including being elected state Railroad Commissioner at Boys State, serving as senior class president, president of the honor society and Methodist Youth Fellowship, and captaining the varsity basketball team. He also won first place in expository writing at the University Interscholastic League state championships.

After attending Paris Junior College for one year, Bert received a congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1971 and commissioning as a second lieutenant of infantry. His distinguished 26-year Army career included command and staff positions in infantry, armor, and aviation units across the United States and Germany. He completed Airborne and Ranger training, became a helicopter pilot, and served in a variety of operational and leadership roles. In 1978, while attending the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, he met and married Carol Elkins of Columbus, Georgia. Together they navigated numerous military postings while Bert earned additional professional education at the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, and later a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. He retired in 1997 as a Colonel of Aviation after his final teaching assignments at the Army War College in Carlisle.

Following his military service, Bert worked as a computer programmer and IT consultant for Computer Aid, Inc. and TecPort Solutions in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He remained deeply committed to service, contributing to local veterans’ organizations as a board member and newsletter publisher for the Cumberland Valley Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America and as a member of the Carlisle Barracks Retiree Advisory Council. In 2013, he was elected as one of nine Carlisle Borough Government Study Commissioners and helped draft the home rule charter still used to govern the borough today.

Bert was preceded in death by his brother Ross Lennon and his stepson David W. Bush. He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Carol (Elkins) Lennon of Carlisle; his son Seth Lennon and wife Samantha of Alexandria, Virginia; daughter-in-law Jaime Bush; his brother Wade Lennon and wife Gay of Gilmer, Texas; his sister Deanna (Lennon) Everett and husband Vincent of Benbrook, Texas; and his sister-in-law Lisa Lennon of Avery, Texas.