Ralston Louie 1992-2021
Ralston Peregrine Louie was born July 22, 1992, in San Francisco, making him a sixth-generation Californian. Two months after he was born, the family moved to Piedmont where he grew up on sports and museums, owing to his father, a longtime professor at the San Francisco Art Institute.
On the morning of Jan. 31, Louie drove from his parents’ home in Piedmont to Pacifica so he could surf. Later in the day, he went to his sister’s apartment complex in Oakland to spend his usual two hours swimming laps in an unheated outdoor pool. Around 1 p.m., a passing resident spotted something at the bottom of the pool and jumped in. Louie was rushed to Highlands Hospital in Oakland, where he was pronounced dead. He was 28.
The family held a private memorial. Survivors include his parents, Reagan Louie and Robin Wu of Piedmont; his sister, Ryan Louie of Oakland; and uncles Tim Wu of San Francisco and Brandon Louie of Mesa, Ariz.