Beloved coach, mailman dies of COVID-19
Griffith “Griff” Low, of Mi-wuk Village, touched countless lives over nearly 40 years in Tuolumne County through his dedication to athletics, faith, family, and the community, before his death to COVID-19 on Dec. 8.
The 72-year-old, who was healthy and active prior to contracting the virus, spent 19 days fighting for his life in an intensive care unit at Adventist Health Sonora as his wife and seven children prayed and sang songs to their beloved patriarch through the closed window to his room at the hospital.
“We watched as this tiny, miniscule virus stole the life of this massive man with a massive legacy of beauty, love and strength,” said his daughter Abigail Saldivar, 43, of Columbia. “He is very careful, he didn’t go out, he stayed home and did his part, wore masks, and everything, but this virus still snuck into this champion’s body.”
Saldivar, who works as a nurse at Adventist Health Sonora, said her father remained active and had recently chopped seven cords of wood for winter before coming down with an illness in mid-november that he initially believed was an annual cold or bronchitis.
Low got tested for COVID-19 on Nov. 17 and was admitted to the ICU at the hospital on Nov.
20, Saldivar said.
“We have no idea how he ended up getting this,” she said. “It just moved so fast.”
Saldivar, who herself contracted COVID-19 weeks before her father and had to spend time in the ICU, posted daily updates on Low’s condition through Facebook for his large extended family that includes his nearly 100-year-old mother, four siblings, 20 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Members of the family also interacted with him each day via the video-chat app Zoom and monitored him on a phone set up in his room for the final four days. They held vigil in the hospital’s parking lot while socially distanced and wearing masks before his wife of 50 years, Sheila Low, was allowed inside to say her final goodbyes in person.
“We told her we knew that she was going to do a great job at representing us,” Saldivar said. “We all stood there at the hospital doors, as she went in through those glass barriers between our father and his family, and through tears, we encouraged her, ‘You got this, mama. We love you. Represent.’ “
Griff Low was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sept. 20, 1948, and grew up on the island of Oahu, where he and his wife met when she was 14 and he was 15. She was the oldest of 10 children, and her future husband quickly became friends with her family, which she described as more close-knit and openly affectionate than his own.
Sheila Low said her husband was a standout basketball and football star at Kailua High School before he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17 during the Vietnam War.
“One thing he loved was that I wrote him every single day that he was gone,” Sheila Low said. “He looked forward to those letters, and I’d always put a little touch of perfume on it. He was just so proud that I did that.”
Griff Low got out of the Navy in 1969 after serving three years and married Sheila on July 11, 1970. The couple had their first child, Eileen, that same year and moved to California in 1973 when his job with Duty Free Shoppers offered to relocate them so he could help open a new store at San Francisco Airport.
The couple initially only planned to stay for two years and initially lived in Foster City until they moved to Redwood City and became members of the Word of Life Fellowship.
“We went, and then God just changed our life,” Sheila Low said. “After that, we had six more children.”
In December 1981, the Lows moved to Twain Harte after the church relocated from Redwood City to Mi-wuk Village.
Griff Low found whatever jobs he could to provide for his family, whether it was delivering water or working in a sandwich shop, until he got one of two openings that came up for mail carrier positions with the United States Postal Service.
“One of the things that stands out was he was a very good provider,” Sheila Low said. “He never complained, everything he did for us, he did selflessly. It just was something that was natural for him. He deeply, deeply loved each one of us.”
Eileen White, 50, of Tuolumne, said her father always made sure she and her siblings had what they needed and that they each had a car when they became old enough to drive.
“Our dad was truly our hero and our champion,” she said. “I truly appreciate everything he did.”
Many people in the community came to lovingly refer to Griff Low as the “Hawaiian mailman” and got to know him through the personal touch he brought to the job, which he retired from in 2015.
One of Griff Low’s regular stops just before his lunch break was at Skyline Senior Place Living in Sonora. He would write letters to seniors who hadn’t received correspondence from family in a while and take his lunch to play a game of pool each day with one of the residents.
Saldivar said a woman recently reached out to them and said while her grandmother was dying of cancer, he would personally walk her mail to her doorstep and take a few minutes to talk and pray with her.
“Those were little things that my dad did to show caring and love and compassion for people,” Saldivar said.
Griff Low is also known by many through his involvement with local youth and adult athletics as a coach, referee, umpire and organizer of recreational leagues. His family estimated that he coached 70-plus teams over the years, including the past four as coach of seventhand eighth-grade boys and girls basketball at Twain Harte Elementary School.
Hannah Low, his fourth child, said dozens of people throughout the county would congregate every Sunday night for more than 20 years in the gym at Twain Harte Elementary School for community pickup games that her father hosted.
“There was nothing for him to gain other than a place for people to come and have an outlet,” Hannah Low, 40, of San Bernardino, said. “No matter the demographic, we were all equal and able to play and mix together. People would sit outside the gym until he would get there to unlock it.”
Many former athletes who were coached by Griff Low have also posted comments on Facebook threads about his death expressing how he impacted their lives and served as a role model.
Griff Low’s third child, Phoebe Wilson, said her father was “super competitive, no-nonsense guy” and urged anyone who may suspect they have COVID-19 to get tested.
“The thing with COVID is you have to stay ahead of it, because it will come in like a storm and take you out in 24 hours,” she said.
Griff Low is survived by his wife, Sheila Low, 71, of Mi-wuk Village; his children Eileen White, 50, of Tuolumne, Abigail Saldivar, 43, of Columbia, Phoebe Wilson, 41, of La Palma, Hannah Low, 40, of San Bernardino, Zadok Low, 38, of Jamestown, Levi Low, 36, of Mi-wuk Village, Manoah Low, 33, of Sacramento; 20 grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren.
He is also survived by his mother, Verna A. Low, 99, of Oahu, Hawaii, and his siblings John Low, of Oahu, Hawaii, and Gerrianne Perreria, of Hilo, Hawaii, and was preceded in death by his father John V. Low Sr., and siblings Calvyn and Michael Low. His family said his mother got to say goodbye to him via Zoom in his final days.
Organizations he was involved with over the years included Twain Harte Parks and Recreation, Eproson Field, Merlo/standard Park, Veteran’s Committee, Tri-county officials, and all elementary and high schools in the county, his family said.
The family is planning a private ceremony to lay him to rest at Word of Life Rest in Shiloh of Sierra Village, with a Youtube Live link for all to virtually attend. A celebration of life will be held at a later date to be determined.