Raymond Low

Raymond Low, passed away peacefully at home in Duxbury, on March 6th, surrounded by his wife and children. Ray lived an incredibly full life of faith, service, travel, activism and education, both gathering and bestowing. Known to so many as Father Ray or Father Low, throughout his tenure and beyond, he performed hundreds of baptisms, marriages and memorials, treasuring each one. He was a friend to many, and every friendship meant so much to him. Born in Melbourne, Australia, his mother Lillian (Walker) Leighton died 8 days after his birth, leaving his father Edward Leighton and two young siblings, Valda and Donald. Ray was adopted by his Aunt Mavis (Walker) Low and her husband Roy Low, and grew up in Melbourne where he became an Aussie rules 'footie' fan. He graduated from Ridley College, University of Melbourne in 1958, and was ordained in the Anglican Church the same year. Later, he obtained a Masters in Education from Boston State College and a Master's in Family Counseling from Eastern Nazarene College. Once ordained, he served in the Australian parishes of Oakleigh, Surry Hills and Stratford in Victoria. In 1959 he married a girl from Oakleigh, Joan Looker. After they were married, he and Joan took the S.S. Oriana ship from Sydney to Vancouver, and then traveled by Canadian Pacific Railroad across the United States eventually landing in Brockton, where he served as the Curate for St. Paul's Episcopal Church. Although due to return to Australia after two years, plans changed in 1963 when Ray was called to be the Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Scituate. Ray and Joan made a home for their family in this seaside town, raising three children and serving 39 happy years at St. Luke's. Building community was also extremely important to Ray. He served on the Town Recreation Committee, was the Co-founder of the Scituate Food Pantry, a founding member of Scituate Rotary and Dean of the South Shore Episcopal Churches. As a result of his efforts, in 1993 the Scituate Chamber of Commerce named Ray "Citizen of the Year." He carried his sense of community to address global challenges as well, becoming President of 'Search for Justice and Equality in Israel Palestine' whose purpose was to seek common ground for the reconciliation of the two inhabitants of the Holy Land and traveled there on three occasions. He also took on several other global initiatives, including organizing a trip with Soviet Union students to Scituate during the Cold War. Anyone who knew Ray knew he also always had the travel bug. And thanks to his wife, who worked in the airline industry for over 25 years, they were able to travel quite extensively. His curiosity led him to visit many European countries as well as Zimbabwe, South Africa, Egypt and Jordan and of course, repeatedly throughout Australia. And, if you were lucky enough to be on Ray's list, he would send you a post card from every port. On these trips, Ray was known for pulling the car over every time he saw an Episcopal Church and his children believe they have seen the inside of about 99 % of the Episcopal Church's in the U.S, England and Australia. Ray retired from St. Luke's in 2003, but his passion for the Church and engaging with the community led him to continue his work into his 80's at several churches including Trinity Church in Boston and two engagements in England: Christ Church, Swindon and Wiltshire. He was always keeping up to date on current events, an avid reader and spent countless hours preparing for sermons, including one of the favorites, 'How to Play Cricket.' He loved living in Scituate and later in his life he enjoyed going out on his boat on the South River, affectionately named 'Aussie Rules.' Ray will be immensely missed, but because he touched so many lives, the family believes they will feel his love of people, community and justice onward. He leaves behind his wife, Joan Elizabeth (Looker) Low, to whom he was married for 61 years; three children, Janine Beal (Robert), Christopher Low (Jann), and Carolyn Spicer (Michael); and five grandchildren, Douglas, Abigail, Samuel, Sarah and Charles Raymond. In addition, he leaves many beloved nieces and nephews in his home country of Australia. Due to COVID at this time, services will be private. There will be a Memorial Service at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Luke's Church Memorial Fund, 465 First Parish Rd. Scituate, MA 02066, or the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Words of comfort can be left at www.richardsongaffeyfuneralhome.com.