Community Corner

Writer Ed Lowe Dies

Long-time columnist and author wrote about the lives of ordinary Long Islanders.

Ed Lowe, a long-time writer for Newsday and other publications who had been living in Huntington in recent years, died Saturday morning. He was 64.

Lowe, who had been diagnosed with liver cancer in the fall, had suffered a debilitating stroke about two and half years earlier but gradually recuperated from it. He had chronicled his recovery on a blog.

As a columnist, he specialized in recounting the struggles and triumphs of ordinary Long Islanders. He was the author of "Ed Lowe's Long Island" and "Not As I Do: A Father's Report," among others.

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"Ed touched the lives of so many people and we were proud to have him as a  brother in the Huntington Hibernians. Everybody loved him. His passing is a great loss and he will be dearly missed," said Greg Kennedy, financial secretary, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 4.

Over the years, he had become known as a popular speaker and emcee, appearing before many community groups. He had once served as grand marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Huntington.

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At Newsday, he was known for his wry humor and story-telling ability. On his blog, Ed Lowe, Himself, he wrote in October about learning he had liver cancer.

On Jan.5, his daughter, Colleen, had written on Facebook, "Send a cheer for ed as he finishes his last paragraph! he said I should write something clever about his departure, but there is nothing really clever about cancer. it's got him. he sends all his love and appreciation to all of you. please send him your blessings xoxoxoxo."

In response, Brian Curry wrote, "Ed, if this is your final paragraph then your words will live on forever. One of my proudest moments was to meet you in person, my columnist hero. As I got the chance to tell you the best compliment I ever got with my column is when people would come up to me and say "Your Patchogue's Ed Lowe", but they didn't know that I could never be worthy of that title."

Patch contributor Diane P. Ortiz wrote, "Ed knew that everyone had a story to tell and used what I call his magical powers to make it a story everyone wanted to read and share. He made the ordinary into the extraordinary and in doing so made ordinary folks feel special.

"I remember when I told him about playing the piano one afternoon after a long day at work. I started by playing some show tunes, but I was out of practice and made a lot of mistakes. For whatever reason I was drawn to some older sheet music that my sister had given me when I was 13 ... Danzas by Juan Morel Campos that I used to play all the time when I was a kid. They used to say that I would almost go into a trance with their syncopated rhythms. I started to play them and it was like I was transported - my fingers just knew where to go. I made no mistakes and played them perfectly. The next day at work I looked up Campos on the Internet and read his biography for the first time. 'On April 26, 1896, during a concert in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Campos suffered a stroke which led to his death,' it said. I looked at the date - the previous day was April 26, 2002. It gave me chills.

 "Ed listened to me tell this tale, with his head cocked to one side - listening intensely. A few weeks later 'The Soul of the Danzas Is in Her' was published in as a full-page column in the LI Life section of Newsday on May 5, 2002. The next day aficionados of Puerto Rican music, friends and family called me from all over the country after seeing his column. I felt like a star!  Ed did his "magic" with words and made an ordinary gal feel extraordinary. Thank you, Ed. You made so many people feel special. Your stories will live forever."

Visitation is Monday, 7-9 pm and Tuesday, 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at M.A. Connell Funeral Home.

A funeral mass is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:45 a.m. at St. Patrick's Church in Huntington. In lieu of flowers, send donations to Autism Speaks.


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