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G. David Low

FUNERAL HOME

Adams-Green Funeral Home & Crematory

721 Elden Street

Herndon, Virginia

G. Low Obituary

LOW G. DAVID LOW Mr. G. David Low, astronaut, space industry executive, engineer, and beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend, died of cancer at age 52 on March 15, 2008. Mr. Low worked for NASA from 1980 until 1996, first as a Spacecraft Systems Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, and then as an Astronaut at Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, from 1984 until joining Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, VA, in February 1996. He married the former JoAnn Andochick in Weirton, WV, in 1992. Mr. Low was selected as an Astronaut by NASA in 1984. He worked in many leadership and technical roles in addition to making three flights aboard the space shuttle. At Orbital Sciences, Mr. Low was Senior Vice President and Deputy General Manager of the Advanced Programs Group. Mr. Low is survived by his loving wife, JoAnn Andochick Low, and three children, Maggie, Christopher, and Abigail of Sterling, VA; his mother, Mrs. Mary R. Low, of Bethesda, MD; brothers Mark Low of Woodinville, WA and John Low of Rockville, MD and sisters Diane Low Murphy of Bethesda, MD and Nancy Low Sullivan of Rye, NY; and numerous nieces and nephews. He is the son of the late George M. Low, former NASA Administrator and President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Arrangements are being managed by Adams-Green Funeral Home of Herndon, VA. Funeral mass will be on, Monday, March 24, 2008, at Our Lady of Hope, Sterling, VA, at 10:30 am. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations in Mr. Low‘s memory to the American Cancer Society or the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, 6225 Vectorspace Blvd. Titusville, FL 32780, 321-455-7011, ( www.astronautscholarship.org ). (www.astronautscholarship.org ).

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Published by The Washington Post from Mar. 20 to Mar. 22, 2008.

Memories and Condolences
for G. Low

18 Entries

Jerry Stoces

July 30, 2008

I offer the prayers of the Stoces family to the Low family, as we all remember David. I worked David's STS-32 landing on Columbia out at Edwards AFB, and just want his family to know that he was an inspiration and will be missed by all.

Shannon Walker

March 29, 2008

G. David was an exceptional person. His passing leaves a void in us all.

Arnauld Nicogossian

March 26, 2008

My deepest sympathies and prayers goes to David's family. This is a great loss for the space community. My family and I will offer our prayers at masses during the next several weeks. I consider myself lucky and blessed to have known David.

Bob K

March 26, 2008

My family will have David's family in our thoughts and prayers as they deal with their loss. I worked with David for the past 8 years. Those of us that had the honor to know David will remember him as someone that achieved the highest honors and held himself to the highest standards while at the same time being very modest, treating all he knew with respect, always having time for his teammates - no matter what position they held, and always having that understated but terrific sense of humor - even in the tough times. He made work fun. I will miss him a lot.

Scott Curtis

March 25, 2008

David was not a part of my daily life. We didn’t spend a great deal of time together even when he was in Houston. That said, he was the kind of person you could meet once and still be compelled to call a friend, someone that I somehow felt close to, but with no real proof of that. He was as unassuming a person as I have ever known, but stuck everyone who knew him in a profound way. He was a blessing to every one of us. It is a rare person who can make such profound impact on so many with so little effort or contact.

I have two little boys and it is my prayer that they grow up with as many as David’s character traits as possible.

JoAnn – God bless you and the kids and allow you to experience the joy you need and deserve.

Rob Fulton

March 24, 2008

My deepest sympathies to David's family and relatives in this sad time. I hope that your many happy memories of him will help in the days and weeks ahead.

I'm honored to have known David, to have worked at Orbital with him, and to have witnessed first-hand the intellect and integrity that were his trademarks. The aerospace world has lost a fine man - and those of us that knew him, regardless of how well, are better for the experience. He was always a class act and gentleman. We should all strive to follow his example.

David has now had his final launch, and I am sure his mission will be completed in his typically superb manner. Those of us still on the ground will miss him....but look forward to a rendezvous with him again eventually.

Jim Reilly

March 24, 2008

Some folks make themselves a source of inspiration, guidance and friendship and G. David was certainly all that. He was one of our early sources of info when our class joined the Astronaut Office in 1995. It was truly an honor to know him and an even greater honor to count myself among his colleagues. He was also there at the launch of STS-117 likely to be my last flight into space. To have him there at the beginning and the end of a career is very gratifying and he will be remembered for what he is: mentor, friend and highly esteemed colleague.

Steven Lindsey

March 23, 2008

To David's family -- Our sincere condolences. David was an exceptional human being and superb astronaut. It was a privilege to know and work with him. He will always be considered a member of our office.

Sincerely,

Steve Lindsey
Chief, Astronaut Office

Farris Rookstool

March 22, 2008

I had the great privilege of being with David and his kids as we toured the launch pad of the Kennedy Space Center in June 2007. I photographed he and his kids as we toured the Shuttle Orbiter Processing Facility and watched the joy of seeing his children hear what their father had done. We had such a great time on the pad as he discussed his last mission aboard Shuttle Atlantis. I will send Joanne the photos of us together as I know his kids will cherish them in the years to come. David's father made monumental contributions to the space program as did his fine son David. I will always look at our photograph together and will have wonderful memories of a special person on a special day. May God Bless David and his family.

Rob Sult

March 22, 2008

To JoAnn and Family- it is with tremendous sadness that I've just learned of David's untimely death. There was, remarkably, a small blurb in the San Antonio Express News that caught my attention. While I haven't seen David since college and not knowing of his illness, I was hoping he might attend the 30th W&L reunion next month such that we might catch up. David and I were members of the same fraternity and he was, without a doubt, one of the most classy guys there on campus. He was thoughtful, smart and grounded in all he pursued. I lived a while in the DC area and would periodically read about his accomplishments and milestones and was pleased for him. I will hold you and your family in my prayers at this time of sadness and loss. I'm confident David moved through life leaving a positive impact on all he touched.

Dot & Walt Cunningham

March 22, 2008

To David's family - Our sympathy! David was a kind and thoughtful man. May God’s love surround you and the strength of his loving arms hold you close at this most difficult time.

Brian Wong

March 21, 2008

My heart goes out to you at this time and in the days ahead.

Julia Moreno

March 20, 2008

Our family sends our thoughts and our prayers to you and your family now and over the coming weeks and months. Our son, Joey, is one of Chris' friends - while we did not know David - we would see him during the recent basketball games cheering Chris and his teammates - a great dad given what he was dealing with on a daily basis. You all should have the comfort knowing he will always be with you.

Gary Kitmacher

March 20, 2008

My sympathies to David's family. I worked with David on STS-57 when he was the payload commander for the first Spacehab mission, and also on Space Station requirements. David was the utmost professional and a personal friend, easy to work with, easy to speak with. He had no hint of arrogance or superiority about him, despite his position as astronaut and payload commander. I remember election eve in 1992; David was in training at the Spacehab facility in Cape Canaveral and we were working well into the night, watching election returns while we were waiting for the module to be reconfigured. One of our support folks was a die-hard liberal and very vocal about it, and David suggested a practical joke listing the returns by state falsely showing the liberal candidate to be well behind. After the prank played out, he apologized profusely (of course the liberals won that night). David was a mensch, not above enlivening even our most serious mission activities with a bit of levity. We will truly miss him.

Chris Becek

March 20, 2008

I have great memories of my time working with David at ORBCOMM. My co-workers & I admired him greatly and we are all saddened by his passing. God's blessings to his family.

John Murphy

March 20, 2008

Will miss you David.

Carol Kramer

March 20, 2008

JoAnn,

I graduated from Langley with David and wanted to send my deepest sympathies to you and your children and all of your family on David's passing. I hope that you will find some comfort in knowing what a wonderful man you were married to and what he had accomplished in his short life. I will keep you and your family in my prayers through this very difficult time and my God watch over you .
Carol Kramer

Sheri Brown

March 20, 2008

A true gentleman and valuable member of the community, Mr. Low will be missed by all who knew and respected him. Our love and sympathy to the entire family, Sheri Brown

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