HOULTON – A 38-year-old Houlton native and decorated career soldier who was killed in Iraq on Friday will be laid to rest in a Houlton cemetery Saturday.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Allen Lowery, who originally was from Houlton, died in Mosul, Iraq, on Dec. 14 when enemy forces attacked his unit.

He died of wounds he suffered during the gunbattle.

He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas.

Paul Prince, a media relations specialist with the public relations office in Fort Hood, said in a written statement that Lowery joined the military in June 1990 as a cannon crew member and had been assigned to 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment since November 2006.

He deployed to Iraq last month for his second tour.

Lowery was a 1987 graduate of Houlton High School. After graduation, Lowery served in the National Guard before enlisting in the Army. He served in Kosovo and in Operation Desert Storm, and most recently worked as a senior drill sergeant at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. His two sons, Sean, 11, and Dawson, 8, still live in Oklahoma.

Lowery was divorced.

Prince said Lowery had received numerous military awards and decorations, including the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Valorous Unit Award, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal and Kuwait Liberation Medal.

Lowery’s father, Winfield Lowery, and several siblings and family members still reside in Houlton.

The family on Monday referred requests for information to a family media liaison, Sgt. 1st Class Karri Bennett of the Maine National Guard.

Bennett said Lowery’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Houlton Wesleyan Church on Kelleran Street. He will be buried at Soldier’s Hill in Evergreen Cemetery.

Lowery’s remains have been returned to the United States and his body is expected to be escorted to Dunn Funeral Home in Houlton on Thursday, according to Bennett.

Several churches offered prayers for Lowery’s family Sunday, and town officials in Houlton were taking steps Monday to pay homage to the fallen soldier.

Paul Cleary, chairman of the Houlton Town Council, said next week’s meeting would feature a moment of silence and a resolution honoring Lowery’s memory.

Cleary said that he did not know Lowery personally, but added that he had spoken to several people who did. He noted that the death of the first soldier from Houlton had affected many residents.

Lowery is the 37th service member with Maine ties to die in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Citizens throughout the nation were posting messages of condolence for Lowery’s family on an online guest book established at legacy.com, thanking the soldier for his service and offering words of comfort to his family.

Gov. John Baldacci ordered flags flown at half-staff on the day of Lowery’s funeral.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jen Lynds may be reached at jlynds@bangordailynews.net or 532-9257.