Diane Louise Low

On October 1, 2021, as bright morning sun streamed through the window behind her, surrounded by her loving family, my mother Diane Louise Low shed her beautiful, delicate, exhausted body.

The room filled with fragile yet loving silence, and at once we were deeply saddened but relieved that this body that she had fought so hard to be in, all these years, was finally free.

Diane was born a bright, beautiful, kind, adventurous spirit in Los Angeles California on August 30, 1945 and moved shortly after to spend her childhood in Sonoma California. Her only brother, my Uncle Richard, recalls the day they arrived, ages 5 and 7. They were being shown their new home and it's half acre back yard which was full of pale green grass that was nearly as tall as they were. He remembers my mother just spread her arms out in utter joy, running and squealing through that field with not a care in the world until they wore themselves out. She attended Sonoma High School, and after meeting and marrying my father, Peter O'Shea in 1963 moved to Napa and had me in 1966.

Diane worked as a legal secretary in San Francisco in my younger years followed by working for over 30 years at Queen Of The Valley Hospital as medical transcription supervisor and administrative assistant. During those years, about 1980, she met who would become her second husband Vernon Low and they married in 1987. This marriage blessed me with two amazing sisters, Tracy and Kelly. Diane traversed hundreds of miles with Vernon on his Harley Davidson having many adventures and beautiful trips together. They enjoyed lunches at Red Rock Cafe, Allston park for a game of fetch with Alfie, and a good game of backgammon in the evenings...Diane also volunteered with the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), leading and facilitating meetings helping and supporting hundreds for 10 years. Her big heart of compassion, kindness, gentle words and encouragement lifted the hearts of many. She was active in and faithful to the Catholic church spanning the entirety of her life- it was both her anchor and her comfort.

My mother Diane was first and foremost an artist. On canvas she painted - and won ribbons for- beautiful and lively depictions of various animals and landscapes. Over her life she worked with oils and acrylics, chalk and pastels... Her hands effortlessly brought life to canvas and reflected the sacred preciousness of land and soul. She lived her life through the eyes of an artist, making sure to stop and really see the beauty in the world and in the people around her. She was nurturer, adventurer, dreamer, gardener extraordinaire and she was absolutely the best mother in the world. She cared for and loved too many animals to count throughout her life, and we are all greatly comforted to know she is now with her beloved Alfie, playing fetch and lying in the sun.

A sister, a mother, a grandmother, a wife, and a devoted friend, Diane leaves behind her husband Vernon Low, her daughters Amber DeSilva, Tracy Hansen and Kelly Low, her grandchildren Miranda, Isabella, Delilah, Eliana, Patrick and Kyle, her brother Richard Albares and all of her dearly loved friends and extended family.

We miss you mom, but we will go on, carrying your light, hearing your voice in every song and poem, and feeling your warm presence in each place we travel to; admiring the goodness and love in everything we see. We will wake each morning, grateful to have another day to dance, to love, to laugh, to live.

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