Obituary of Lawrence L Low

– Lawrence L. Low, (AKA Larry, Leroy, Poppy) 90 of Niles, passed away on September 14, 2021 at Lakeland Hospital in Niles from COVID related issues. Larry was born on March 18, 1931 on his family’s farm in Niles to the late Herbert and Mary (Myers) Low. After graduating from Niles High School, Larry married his high school sweetheart Joyce Hahn on July 19, 1952 at the United Methodist Church in South Bend, Indiana. Larry served his country by joining the USMC and after basic training, he and Joyce made their USMC home in San Francisco, CA. He served active duty from 1951 to 1953 until he was honorably discharged. He continued serving in the reserves until 1959 but was never called upon. During their time in California, their first child, Kevin was born in a military hospital. He and Joyce moved back to Niles after his military service and had three more children, Kerry, Kelly and Kim. While he worked, he simultaneously got his college degree at Indiana University South Bend. He also taught some classes at IUSB while attaining his degree in Business Administration with a minor in Accounting, eventually graduating in 1968. Larry was employed at Studebaker from 1954-1964 before accepting a job with South Bend Community Schools where he served as Director of Data Processing until 1976. In 1975 while still working at SBCS, Larry started his own business, L. L. Low Associates Inc. to provide data processing services to Indiana Schools and later expanded to include Indiana Counties. He worked with many dedicated and talented co-workers that he considered family for 26 years. Larry retired from Low Associates in 2001, but the business is still operating today and currently has 47 employees. While Larry worked at L. L. Low Associates alongside his wife and children, his family continued to grow with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His world was rocked however, on October 28, 1999 after the premature death of his wife Joyce to cancer. They had been married for 47 years. Thankfully, Larry met Sharon Cholaj and they married on September 1, 2001. Sharon was a blessing to Larry and his entire family, as she helped make it possible for him to move forward and was very involved with every aspect of his life. They traveled and experienced many places together including China, and attended every event they could of their many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Together they continued to work on his pond property and by the time of his death were able to proudly state they had four children, ten grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren, spanning five generations. They celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on September 1st, 2021. Larry was always a tireless worker from his days as a farm kid, to the Marines, throughout his various office jobs and finally starting his own company. Nobody could ever outwork him. He never had just one job, and if he wasn’t at one of his 9-5 jobs you could usually find him working outside, whether that was gardening or working on his family’s property. He liked to promote a strong work ethic in everyone and he had an affinity for anyone that wasn’t afraid of hard work. Over the years, he hired many people to work with him on the family property; including almost all of his kids and grandkids along with their friends, and even occasionally converting a few trespassers to workers. He was a devoted family man and along with the help of his sisters, he helped take care of his father whenever possible when he wasn’t able to care for himself, after his mother’s untimely death in 1976. He prioritized family and throughout the years both supported and hosted many family reunions. He loved seeing and talking to everyone and loved all of his family and friends dearly. He was very supportive of many causes including Brandywine Schools whose property borders his own. He was a member of the American Legion Post 26 in Niles, and he believed in and donated both time and money to many good causes around the area. He was presented with the key to the city of South Bend for his work at South Bend Community Schools by, then-Mayor, Jerry Miller. By far, however, his proudest accomplishment was his family. Below is a list of his closest family members, but he had many other cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws far too numerous to mention. While he may have not said it, he loved and appreciated each and every one of you. He was preceded in death by his parents Herbert and Mary Low, his wife Joyce (Hahn) Low, his siblings Ann Fishburn, Arleta Ringer, Alma Tarner, and daughter-in-law Judy (Kelly) Low. He is survived by: his wife Sharon (Cholaj) Low, brother Ronald Low, and sister Alta (Low) Hood. Children: Kevin (Laura) Low, Kerry (Dorothy) Low, Kelly Low, and Kim (Gary) Newman all of Niles. Grandchildren: Shawn (Veronica Voelker) Low, Josh (Amy) Low, Erica (Bruce) Zache, Melissa (Cody) Fryatt, Steve (Hillary) Drotoz, Andrew (Bailey) Low, Kyle (Jessica) Low, Emily (Matthew) Knapper, Jenna (Brad) Zache, and Alex (Samantha Hinton) Newman. Great Grandchildren: Samantha (Dylan) King, Danielle (Chris Brady) Low, Ashlee Low, Alli Low, Matthew Zache, Breslyn Zache, Jackson Zache, Reagan Zache, Ava Fryatt, Alice Fryatt, Reese Low, Cuyler Low, Calvin Low, Lincoln Knapper, Harriet Knapper, Zachary Zache, Ella Zache, Courtney Zache, and Benjamin Newman. Great-Great Grandchildren: Bowen King, Easten King, and Brooks Brady. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to one of his favorite charities (see below) or a charity of your choice. The Salvation Army of Niles 424 N 15th Street Niles, MI 49120 St. Jude Children’s Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 Shriner’s Hospital 2900 Rocky Point Dr. Tampa, FL 33607 Many thanks and respect for the doctors and especially the nursing staff of Lakeland Hospital, they took great care of him under very difficult circumstances. Per Larry’s wishes, he has been cremated and there will not be a traditional visitation or funeral. The Celebration of Life for Larry Low will be held Saturday, September 25, 2021 at noon. Please join us at the Low Family Pond, 1901 S. 17th St., Niles, MI (very casual). Entrance is the dirt lane next to the driveway to the Brandywine Jr/Sr High school. Follow the dirt lane up the hill, then to the left. We will have a short service at noon after which lunch will be provided. We look forward to visiting with our friends and family, sharing photos and stories of the wonderful life of Larry, Dad, Leroy, Poppy.