My Daddy's Cheesecake co-founder dies in Tucson

Former Southeast Missouri State University speech professor Joe Low, an enthusiastic supporter of university athletics and one of the founders of the popular Cape Girardeau restaurant My Daddy's Cheesecake, died Jan. 10 in Tucson, Ariz., at age 70.

Low was remembered Tuesday as a dedicated teacher and friend. Tom Harte, also retired from the speech department at the university and former partner in the restaurant, said he last saw Low in March at the home Low purchased after retiring. Low retired from the university in 1998.

"He related to students very well," Harte said. "He was the antithesis of the stuffy professor on high."

Born in Coffeyville, Kan., Low was the son of a doctor and a registered nurse. He excelled in speech classes at Baker University in Baldwin, Kan., and found a life's calling. He took a job at Southeast in 1962 and soon met Harte as a student.

Low's mother endowed an annual lecture series in his honor.

Harte will travel to Tucson to deliver a eulogy for his friend at services Monday. The two were usually inseparable on campus and their friendship grew into the business partnership, Harte recalled. The friendship outlasted the business relationship.

"That is a testimony to how strong our friendship was," he said, noting that many experts warn against going into business with friends.

The cheesecake business grew out of a mutual love of good food, Harte said. Harte loves to cook, and the two admired the cheesecake served at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. "Joe was always egging me on, trying to get me to match it," he said.

The efforts did so well, Low's wife, Lauchette, urged Harte to market the cheesecake. From providing desserts to local restaurants, the business grew into a stand-alone restaurant. The business was sold in 1996 to Wes Kinsey, who now operates a restaurant under the name at 265 S. Broadview St.

All that rich food contributed to an expanding waistline for both men, Harte said. And while they would engage in dieting contests, he said, the self-restraint usually didn't last. On a trip to see Low's parents in Phoenix, Ariz., he recalled, the two saw a Marie Callender's restaurant, famous for its pies.

"Joe and I couldn't resist," Harte said. "I am shame-faced to say we each had three pieces of pie, all different of course. He did everything that way. He just approached everything with a dynamic gusto and enthusiasm."

When they reached the home of Low's parents, his mother had baked two pies in anticipation of their arrival, Harte said. Each dutifully tried large slices of each.

Many current staff and faculty at Southeast are former students. Jane Stacy, director of alumni development, said Low was a faculty adviser for her homecoming steering committee. "He was constantly a friend to every student he ever had," she said.

Low is survived by his wife, daughter Julie Low Katinas of Dallas, son Joseph Low III of Miami, sister Jean Bloomfield of Bartlesville, Okla., and three grandchildren.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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