Janet Low

Janet T. Low Feb. 16, 1942 - Nov. 20, 2013 Resident of Martinez A bright light on earth went out and a shining star in the heavens appeared after Janet Low took her last breath and departed from this world on November 20. Over the past few years, she had been coping with a number of serious illnesses, most recently liver cancer, which was diagnosed in June of this year. She died peacefully and without pain at the Classic Care Home of Walnut Creek, and now her body and spirit are at rest. A proud native of Hilo, Hawaii, Janet Toshie Sakamoto grew up on a poultry farm run by her uncle Tom Fujimoto and his family. Not long after graduating from Hilo High School, Janet moved to Honolulu to attend Kapiolani Technical School, but somehow knew in her heart that bigger things awaited her on the mainland. With less than $100 to her name, she flew to San Francisco to live with a girlfriend and landed a secretarial job at California Dental Service (now Delta Dental) where she worked her way up to management over the course of her 20 years of service there. In 1967 she met and married Eddie Fong Low, of Oakland, and they had two children, Kimberly Hatsue, and Matthew Scott. Ed and Jan raised their family in the Rockridge area of Oakland, and then moved to Lafayette in 1979. Despite financial struggles, and challenges balancing work and home life, Janet always referred to the early years of their family life as the happiest she'd ever known. In 1985, Janet and Ed divorced, and she entered an exciting new independent time in her life. She joined the Lafayette Health Club and became part of a group of "regulars" there. She purchased a townhouse in Martinez and developed an interest in home d‚cor and arts and crafts. She also began fulfilling her desire to travel and see more of the United States. After leaving Delta Dental, she extended her career to include sales and marketing of health care benefits, which she did for the remainder of her professional career until she retired in 2010. Janet was preceded in death by her mother, Hatsuko Fujimoto, her father James Sakamoto, her stepfather Jay Yoshida, her ex-husband Eddie Fong Low, and her beloved cat Benito Mussolini Low. She is survived by her children Kimberly (Ron Wong) and Matt, her brother Gary Sakamoto and his family, and close cousins and their families in Hawaii. Anyone who knew Janet will remember her as a friendly, outgoing, fun-loving people person who could rarely resist sharing her opinion on just about anything. Most of all, she will be remembered and missed for her unique style and her enormous, sometimes wicked and often irreverent, sense of humor. All friends and family are invited to celebrate Janet's life at a memorial reception on December 10 from 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. at the Lafayette Park Hotel, 3287 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette (925) 283-3700.