Dr. Jeffrey Low

September 6, 1955 to May 14, 2011

Before anything else, Jeff Low should be remembered as a devoted and loving husband. Among his many other talents, Jeff cherished his time with his beloved wife Mary and worked incredibly hard to make his marriage to her the very best that it could be. Not that Jeff’s 30-year career as a therapist could have made this a given, rather, Jeff, saw his marriage and his relationship with his wife as whole other career – one that brought immense joy and happiness to his life, along with challenges that both he and Mary met head on, working together to find peace, balance, compromise and love over the course of their 20-year marriage.

Having grown up in New York’s Westchester County, Jeff retained an Easterner’s sense of pragmatism. But leaving New York for good following his 1972 high school graduation, Jeff settled in the Bay Area with which he’d earlier fallen in love. He soon found his true calling as an advocate for those in need – first as a volunteer at the Berkeley Free Clinic and later in his work as a licensed therapist.

Jeff did his undergraduate work at San Francisco State, subsequently studying at and working for San Francisco-based EST for three years. Upon his graduation from EST, Jeff opened his own practice in Berkeley focusing on mind and body work, eventually creating and patenting a new practice called Neuromuscular Activation, a new form of body/mind therapy whereby ingrained patterns of behavior are cleared from the central nervous system allowing new channels to open. While practicing, Jeff completed his Masters degree at Sierra University followed by his doctorate at Columbia Pacific and finally his PhD in body/mind psychology.

It was while teaching NMA in Hawaii Jeff and Mary, a massage therapist at the time, met and fell in love. The two travelled and worked throughout the western states, eventually settling in Sonoma. Close to this time, Jeff became fascinated with the field of marriage and, retiring from NMA, he opened The Marriage Path. For the past eight years, he has focused entirely on teaching marriage through his private practice, his radio show on SunFM 91.3, his columns in The Sonoma Valley Sun and his web site, themarriagepath.com. A book of the same name is in the process of being published.

True to his word and his work, Jeff can be quoted as saying that his marriage has been the single greatest thing in his life, bringing more happiness and joy for 20 years than anything else.

The youngest child in his family, Jeff is survived by his mother, two sisters and one brother.