Mike and Deby Low founded Forty Financial in Greenfield. The firm will continue with a family succession plan in place, it told clients in an email.
GREENFIELD — When Mike Low passed away Friday, Oct. 29, after a lengthy illness at the age of 68, his wife, Deby, had trouble coming up with a photo of him by himself.
“All the pictures of Mike have me in them. We did everything together,” Deby said of the man she married 30 years ago.
The couple raised their blended family of four kids together and spent the past 22 years working side by side at the financial planning business they founded together — Forty Financial Inc. — which sits on Main Street on the edge of Riley Park in Greenfield.
They often spent their weekends boating at Lake Cumberland in Kentucky, watching their grandchildren play sports or cheering on Mike’s beloved Indiana University Hoosiers at various sporting events.
Mike Low was born and raised in Greenfield, and lived in the city all his life — except for the years he attended IU in Bloomington, where he was a placekicker for the football team, and a few years he spent teaching physical education at elementary schools elsewhere in the state.
Described as a selfless, happy-go-lucky guy by his friends, Low was known for greeting everyone he met with a fist bump and a smile.
Friends say he was the life of the party, but also fiercely private when it came to his health. That’s why even close friends were surprised to hear that he had battled an undisclosed health condition for the past 10 years.
“I know there were lots of questions out there, but Mike wanted to be very private about it and just deal with it his way, and he did,” said his wife, who called her husband her best friend.
Low said one of her husband’s former teammates at IU once told her Mike was the same laid-back, private guy back in college.
“He just never wanted the spotlight on himself,” she said.
His longtime friend, Jeff Harris, described Low as “quite a character” who enjoyed “a clean practical joke and a good, cold beer.”
Even as his health deteriorated, Harris said, Low would always come in for a haircut at Ye Olde Head Shoppe in Greenfield with a smile on his face.
“Mike always put everybody else ahead of himself,” said Harris, who cut Low’s hair for over 20 years and was a client at Forty Financial.
Low was the same fun-loving, selfless guy back when the two attended Greenfield-Central High School together 50 years ago, he said.
“Mike is just one of those people who could talk to anybody. It doesn’t matter if it was somebody down and out on the street or the president of the United States, he could carry on a conversation with anyone,” Harris said.
When working with his financial planning clients, Harris said Low would shower each of them with personal attention and respect, regardless of their means.
“Whether you had lots (of money) or a minimal amount, he was going to take care of you. Whenever he was talking to you, you were the most important thing on his mind,” he said.
“Even if you just met him, you felt like you had known him for a long time.”
Harris said Low’s selfless, approachable personality was likely the key reason he was so successful throughout his life — on the football field in high school and college, then later as a junior high and high school football coach and wealth coach.
Low’s wife said that when it came to financial planning, her husband preferred to think of himself as a coach rather than as an adviser.
“He always liked to refer to himself as a wealth coach. He thought of what he did as coaching his clients more than advising them,” she said.
In an email sent out to clients Monday, Forty Financial shared that a succession plan has been put in place to continue the services Low had provided over the years.
His son, Chase Low, will take over the business as the head wealth coach, while his daughter, Katie Mullins, will continue as the administrative assistant and Deby will continue as chief operating officer.
Over the weekend, Deby broke the news of Mike’s passing on her Facebook page.
“On Friday night a great man, wonderful father and friend to many received his angel wings,” she wrote.
“He was my husband, co-worker, co-conspirator, but most of all my best friend…He fought this great challenge Mike’s way and I respected that. I hope you do too. So raise your glass to him, as he is at peace now.”
To celebrate Low’s life, his family is inviting all who knew him to Mike’s Tailgate Party from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, at the Hancock County Fraternal Order of Police, at 400 E. Davis Road in Greenfield.
Harris said it’s the perfect tribute for a man who was loved by so many.
“I just can’t think there was anybody who didn’t like him,” he said. “He was just a super duper guy.”
