Obituaries

Tom Low

Published 4 years ago4y ago • Bookmarks: 33

May 27, 2020

Longtime Ardsley-on-Hudson resident Tom Low passed away peacefully after a struggle with cancer on Wednesday, May 13, in Kent, CT, surrounded by family. He was 78. He was known for his sharp mind, deep-rooted integrity, unrelenting optimism and unfailing fairness.

Tom was born in April 20,1942, in Ridgewood, Queens, the son of Low Pan Shan and his wife, Low Pon Yook. He met his wife, Valentine, at a dance in Manhattan’s Chinatown when he was sixteen and she was seventeen. They dated for several years before marrying in their early twenties. “We were kids,” Valentine liked to say. “We didn’t know anything.” He worked various jobs while attending night school at Pace College. After his graduation, he and his partner Aubrey Conklin founded Aubrey Thomas, Inc., in 1970. The company eventually became the largest temporary personnel agency in the tristate area. Mr. Low ran the company for seventeen years before selling it in 1987.

Tom co-founded Lee & Low Books in 1991 with Philip Lee. The company, which will celebrate its 30^th anniversary in 2021, is the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the United States. “It was a joy and privilege to be his partner in starting Lee & Low,” says Philip Lee, who left the company in 2004. “He was a great friend, mentor, and visionary. It meant a lot to him to build a company that would promote diversity, encourage new voices, and nurture a new generation of publishing professionals.”

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Tom was especially proud of Lee & Low’s work supporting new talent. Some notable authors who got their start with Lee & Low include Caldecott Medalist Javaka Steptoe, Pura Belpré, Author Award winner Guadalupe Garcia McCall, and six-time Coretta Scott King Honor recipient R. Gregory Christie, to name a few.

Tom’s sons, Craig and Jason Low, joined the company in the late 1990s and eventually took on leadership roles. As he scaled back his day-to-day involvement with the company, Tom and Val expanded their family vacations to Hawaii as well as trips to Wimbledon, the French Open, and the New York Mets spring training facility in Port St. Lucie, FL. When in Irvington, he was frequently spotted running on the Aqueduct or walking in conversation with his wife and others encountered along the way. Tom birdwatched, was a disciplined runner and avid tennis player, and became a competent watercolor painter. When grandchildren arrived, Tom and his wife nurtured them with love and watched them grow up. As a result, the grandchildren all have fond memories of trips to Disneyland and summer weekends at the family beach house.

Tom leaves behind a close-knit family consisting of both his immediate and extended family. He is survived by his loving wife, Valentine; two sons, Jason and Craig; two daughter-in-laws, Sue and Mei Lan; four grandchildren, Jasper, Kiana, Bryce, and Dylan; and his four siblings, Irene, Mary, Betty, and David.

Because of the pandemic, there will be no memorial service at this time. Well-wishers are encouraged to send donations to some of Tom’s favorite charities like: freshair.org, scenichudson.org, and animalleague.org.

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