Rob Lowe’s son John Owen shared Emily Dickinson’s poem on hope after his 13-year-old cousin Fiona died by suicide, a quiet family tribute in the middle of devastating loss.
Over the weekend, 30-year-old John Owen Lowe posted the classic lines on his Instagram Stories days after the death of his young cousin.
Fiona, the middle daughter of actor Chad Lowe and Kim Painter, passed away at a hospital last Tuesday. She was 13. Her sisters are Mabel, 17, and Nixie, 10.
The family told Page Six they were crushed by the loss and asked for both prayers and privacy while urging anyone in crisis to seek help.
In a statement, relatives described Fiona in plain, loving terms, smart, creative, and devoted to dance.
They said:
"We are deeply heartbroken by the loss of our beloved Fiona. She was a loving young girl who was smart, creative and loved to dance,"
They continued:
"She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents. In fact, she was the light of our lives. Her passing is devastating for our entire family and we ask for prayers and privacy at this time,"
The family also urged people “struggling with mental health” to contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The national line is 988, and help is also available through SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
John Owen, Rob Lowe’s youngest son, did not post a long personal essay. He shared Dickinson’s “Hope Is the Thing With Feathers,” a short poem that has comforted readers for generations.
The lines he put on Instagram Stories read:
"HOPE is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all,"
And:
"And sweetest in the gale is heard; and sore must be the storm that could abash the little bird that kept so many warm,"
He finished the poem with:
"I’ve heard it in the chillest land, and on the strangest sea; yet, never, in extremity, it asked a crumb of me."
The choice was simple and direct. In a moment of family grief, he pointed to endurance, not spectacle.
Fiona’s older sister Mabel also wrote on Instagram after the death.
She posted:
"I love you so much fiona ❤️ i wish your short time here was easier and i hope your mind is at ease now,"
And added:
"I will honor you forever and keep your memory alive. I love you, i hope you knew just how much,"
Those words need little translation. A sister lost a sibling still in her early teens and promised to keep her memory close.
Public details remain limited. Reporting places Fiona’s death at a hospital last Tuesday and the family posts in the days that followed. No city, hospital name, or fuller medical account appears in the available accounts, and relatives have asked the public for space.
What is clear is the shape of the loss: a 13-year-old girl remembered by her parents as the light of their lives, mourned by her sisters, and answered in public by a cousin who reached for a poem about hope that does not quit.
Families still matter most when the news is worst, and the right response begins with prayer, privacy, and real help for anyone in the dark.
