Hubert Pong Low, a resident of Santa Barbara for 53 years, passed away peacefully on March 15, 2019 in Huntington Beach, CA, where he was an assisted living resident at Ryan’s Open Arms. He was 87 years old. Born in Canton (Guangzhou), China on June 23, 1931 to parents Wai Yu and Say Chun Low, he was the youngest of nine children. He grew up in wartime China; the warehouse his parents did operated provided shelter from air raids as did the children refuge run by Santa Barbara native and missionary to China, Ruth Hitchcock.
Ms. Hitchcock helped preserve family ties between Hubert and his oldest sister, Oy Yee, and her husband, Fook Poy Yee, who lived lived in Santa Barbara. Hubert emigrated activism by Chet Holcombe of the Santa Barbara News-Press, and passage of a family reunification bill sponsored by Congressman Charles M. Teague. After gaining employment at Josten’s his wife and young daughter joined him in Santa Barbara a few years late.
He worked at Josten’s for 28 years until the plant’s closure in 1992. During retirement Hubert enjoyed Santa Barbara as a slice of paradise. He took many walks to the beach, was a regular at the farmer’s market, went treasure hunting at thrift shops. and developed a love of gardening. Hubert was predeceased by his wife Moling and is survived by his daughters Grace (Yale) Chiang and Laura (Victor) pan, and his grandchildren Alex (Alyssa) Chiang, Lindsay Chiang, Julienne Chiang, Ethan Pan, and Leah Pan. A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 12, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Cemetery chapel, 901 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Gifts in his memory can be made to Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (https://.sbrm.org).
