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After fighting cancer for two and a half years, Vanessa Garza Lowe died on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 with loved ones at her home in Austin, Texas. Throughout her illness, Vanessa’s devotion to family and friends, her keen sense of humor, and her commitment to her community never wavered. She leaves behind her husband Dominic Lowe, her 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, their nephews Mika Lowe and Malcolm Garza Walker and their lovable dog Albie. Vanessa was born in Alice, Texas and has many loving cousins, aunts, uncles, and an extended family in south and central Texas. Vanessa built a strong community of friends and colleagues in Washington DC, New York, Dallas, and Austin, and cultivated several lifelong friendships from her years in San Antonio high school.
Vanessa graduated from Taft High School, where she was president of the Raider Band, and received her bachelor’s degree from the University of the Incarnate Word. Vanessa holds a Masters in Urban Administration from Trinity University in San Antonio and an MEd from the University of Texas at Austin and has devoted her professional life to education. She served as special assistant to the Secretary of Education in Washington, DC, and then switched to 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. Vanessa was deeply committed to providing students of all backgrounds with rich, culturally validating study, giving students full attention, remembering all of their names, and often keeping pace with them long after graduation.
After coaching 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 the Relay Graduate School of Education, where she was from Worked from 2012 to 2020.
In addition to her educational career, Vanessa co-founded the Austin Allies nonprofit in 2016 to organize meaningful volunteering for families in the greater Austin area. She served as chairman of the board and contributed regularly to the monthly children’s book club.
Vanessa was an incredible wife to her husband Dominic, whom she met on Thanksgiving Day 2001 in NYC, and a great mother to Jack and Nate, who were born in August 2007 after Vanessa was bedridden for two months in the hospital. Vanessa loved her boys very much and brought them a love of books, theater and travel. The happiest was creating memories with her family and going on countless adventures with them in Sydney, New York, London and the USA. Vanessa’s other favorite pastimes were family movie nights, cuddling with Albie, and singing 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 and made meaningful contributions to her family and 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 takes place on Wednesday, December 8, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, 4801 La-Crosse Avenue, Austin, TX.
Published by Express-News on November 20, 2021.
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