VANESSA LOWE Obituary

After a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, Vanessa Garza Lowe died on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, surrounded by loved ones at her home in Austin, Texas. Throughout her illness, Vanessa's dedication to her family and friends, her feisty sense of humor, and her commitment to her community never wavered. She is survived by her husband Dominic Lowe, their two sons Jack and Nathaniel, her parents Diana Garza and Guadalupe Garza, Jr., her sisters Cynthia and Sonya Garza, her mother-in-law Judith Lowe, her brother-in-law Daniel Lowe, her sister-in-law Natasha Lowe, her nieces Isabel Garza Walker, Charlotte and Amelia Lowe, her nephews Mika Lowe and Malcolm Garza Walker, and her adoring dog Albie. Vanessa was born in Alice, Texas and has many loving cousins, aunts, uncles, and extended family across south and central Texas. Vanessa built a strong community of friends and colleagues in Washington DC, New York, Dallas, and Austin, and maintained multiple lifelong friendships from her years in high school in San Antonio.

Vanessa was a graduate of Taft High School where she was president of the Raider band, and received her undergraduate degree from University of the Incarnate Word. Vanessa received a masters degree in Urban Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio and an MEd from the University of Texas at Austin, and dedicated her professional life to the field of education. She served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Education in Washington, DC and then moved into teaching. Vanessa brought her passion for reading and writing to high school students in Brooklyn at the School for International Studies, and in Austin at Travis Early College HS and KIPP Austin Collegiate. Deeply committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds received rich, culturally affirming learning, Vanessa gave students her full attention, remembered all their names, and often kept up with them long after graduation.

After guiding hundreds of students to develop their own voice, Vanessa turned her attention to helping other teachers do the same as Director of Content Instruction and Assistant Professor of Practice at Relay Graduate School of Education, where she worked from 2012 to 2020.

In addition to her education career, Vanessa co-founded the nonprofit organization Austin Allies in 2016 to organize meaningful volunteer opportunities for families in the Greater Austin area. She served as board president and was a regular contributor to the monthly kids' book club.

Vanessa was an incredible wife to her husband Dominic, who she met in NYC on Thanksgiving Day 2001, and an amazing mother to Jack and Nate, who were born in August 2007 after Vanessa spent two months in hospital on bedrest. Vanessa loved her boys deeply and instilled in them her fondness for books, theater, and travel. She was happiest when creating memories with her family and enjoyed countless adventures with them in Sydney, New York, London and across the USA. Vanessa's other favorite activities were family movie nights, snuggling with Albie, and singing at the top of her lungs in the car. She was a virtuoso in every genre of music, from rancheras to classic country to show tunes.

Vanessa was a fighter. She lived every day making meaningful contributions to her family and her community, and she was always the first to roll up her sleeves and get to work. This world will not be the same without her. Vanessa is loved so much and missed by so many.

A celebration of life will be held at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La-Crosse Avenue, Austin, TX at 11AM on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.