Brother Dallas Low, a member of the BYU-Hawaii/Polynesian Cultural Center Presidents' Leadership Council, a major benefactor of both institutions, a former labor missionary, resident and a frequent visitor to Laie over the years, passed away on February 5 in Logan, Utah, at the age of 94.
Brother Low, who is originally from Providence, Utah, first came to Hawaii in 1942 to work as a contractor during World War II, and over the ensuing years helped repair and build military facilities at Pearl Harbor, Barber's Point, Midway, Johnson Island and Kwajalein. After the war, he remained in Hawaii to work for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation as Inspector General.
He married Mary Luhaupua Kunane on June 14, 1947, in the Laie Hawaii Temple, and was among the first labor missionaries called to help build the Church College of Hawaii campus. Later he and his wife traveled extensively throughout the Pacific helping build Latter-day Saint chapels in Samoa and Fiji, where Sister Low was killed in an automobile accident. In Hawaii he helped build chapels, stake centers and the Polynesian Cultural Center. On his last assignment here, he helped build the Laie Hawaii North Stake Center.
YU-Hawaii presented Brother Low with the university's Distinguished Service Award during its June 2004 commencement, at which time President Shumway said, "Whenever we walk the halls of BYU-Hawaii and the pathways of the Polynesian Cultural Center and marvel at the strength, beauty and purposes of these places, let's remember that Brother Dallas Low is also there - from their foundations to their rooftops."
During that same program, Brother Low responded, "I've been a builder in the Church since I was big enough to go away from home. I've worked with all kinds of people and we've all gotten along wonderfully. I even learn their language in order to greet them properly so I can thank them, and regardless of what color, race or creed they are, I try to make friends with them. They're all children of God."
"I found out the best way to overcome trials is to roll up our sleeves and do the best we can under the conditions which we labor. It's up to us. We have to be conservative and live a little closer to the Church and the gospel. Each day is a task and the fulfillment of it is our growth. Even at my old age I still have horizons out there that I can cross."
Brother and Sister Low were not blessed with children, but because of their love for the students of BYU-Hawaii and Laie community, he established a scholarship to help those with economic needs.
[Photo caption: Brother Low disembarks from the BYU-Hawaii sailing canoe Iosepa in June 2004. (Photo by Mike Foley)]