Alvin Lawrence Low

Passed away peacefully with family by his side after courageously fighting a long illness. Alvin is survived by his loving wife Anna; his sons Thomas (Margaret) & Larry (Stephanie); Anna's children Pam (Wil), Randy (Melanie) & Dee; grandchildren Michael, Samantha, Jeremy, Alex, Mia, Erin, Braden, Megan & Jack. Predeceased by parents James & Daisy Low and sister Florence Wolfe. Will be missed by his siblings Babs, Arnold (Jean), Sharlene (Alfred), Allan (Ginger), Lorrie (Tom); in-laws, nieces, nephews & cousins. He leaves behind many good friends from Cameron House, the Presbyterian Church in Chinatown, and Covenent Presbyterian. He especially treasured his friendship with his long-time tennis partner Tommy Low and with Stanley Spinrod, his mentor and friend from John Hancock days. A native San Franciscan, Alvin graduated from George Washington High School in 1956. He proudly served in the US Army as a Refrigeration Specialist stationed in Germany. He and his Army buddies traveled throughout Europe on weekends in a VW Beetle. Upon his honorable discharge, Alvin returned home and worked for the postal service. He became a successful insurance salesman at John Hancock and retired just shy of 30 years' service. As a single parent, Alvin provided his sons Thomas and Larry with a stable loving environment. Alvin was especially proud that Thomas and Larry developed into loving fathers and dedicated family men in their own right. Alvin and Anna met when they were extras on David Caruso's "Jade" which was being filmed in Chinatown. They got acquainted over coffee and the rest is history. Anna and Alvin married in September 1997 and merged their 2 families: Alvin's sons Thomas and Larry and Anna's children Pamela, Randy and Dee. Together, they celebrated many happy occasions: holidays, birthdays, weddings, and arrival of 9 grandchildren. All these celebrations with family and friends gave Alvin many opportunities to show off his newly acquired interest in cooking. He wanted to prepare special meals for his new family and figured his repertoire of easy to fix fried Spam sandwiches, soup macaroni and spaghetti meals from his "bachelor" days just wouldn't cut it. Inspired by restaurant meals he shared with Anna or what he saw on the TV cooking shows, he would try to replicate those dishes and was often successful in doing so. Pretty good for a guy who used to bring a bag of unpeeled shrimp to a family potluck and expected his sisters to clean and cook it too! Alvin and Anna frequently invited guests over for delicious curry chicken, beef stew, lamb chops and roast pork (that's all in one meal!). You were not allowed to leave their home hungry! Chinese hot pot and clam linguine were among his favorites, along with chicken roasted in the "set it and forget it" oven. Anna recalls that Alvin was so impressed with the oven that he gave one to each of the kids that year. Alvin had many interests and talents. Not only could he cook, he enjoyed playing tennis, and he liked to build things. His older brother Arnold recalls: "Alvin called me to come over to help him with some project. When I got there, he just sat there and watched me do all the work!" Of course, Alvin had to have a collection of building tools for all these projects. He would request a specific tool for his birthday and Christmas gifts. On top of this, he also bought back up tools and hundreds of hardware items. He can compete with Sears or Home Depot with his inventory. Not one to be idle in his retirement, Alvin became Cameron House's Property Manager and was instrumental in coordinating the logistics of moving the CH office to Grant Avenue in preparation for the retrofit. He was then asked to take on the responsibility of the Food Pantry - getting it set up, buying the various food items and hauling it back to Cameron House where he and volunteers had to shelve and organize the food items. He coordinated and worked with the volunteers to set up a system to ensure that the Food Pantry participants would get their groceries in an orderly manner. He also cooked lunch for the volunteers. During the past five years, Alvin was in and out of the hospital with a variety of life-threatening illnesses. But each time, he recovered and maintained a positive attitude towards life. In spite of his serious kidney problems, he and Anna were able to do some traveling. They cruised to the Mexican Riviera with his brothers & sisters and went to Vancouver with Anna's sisters. He looked forward to eating out at his favorite restaurants with his lunch buddies and family. These trips and lunch outings meant alot to him because they served to strengthen the bonds of friendship and family ties. Even in his final days, Alvin was more concerned about his loved ones than himself. That's the kind of guy Alvin was. Alvin's passing will leave a great void among those who loved and knew him well. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Cameron House, 920 Sacramento Street, San Francisco 94108 or to a charity of your choosing.