Lowery, Susie
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Lowery, Susie
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While working as a Cook for Davidson College from the 1930s until her retirement, Susie Lowery became a pillar of Davidson, North Carolina’s community through her work with Gethsemane Baptist Church and her devotion to friends and family.
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Susie Lowery (1912-2001) was an anchor of her community in Davidson, North Carolina. Beginning in the 1930s, Lowery worked as a chef for the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity of Davidson College and was a house mom for its members. Lowery was beloved by the fraternity's members, and she cared for them deeply. As a house mom, Lowery looked after the physical and emotional well-being of the brothers, and these nurturing qualities earned her the nicknames Mama Suze and Aunt Susie within the community.
Fitting with her caring nature, Lowery and her husband, Rufus Lowery, frequently cared for children when their parents were not able to. During her time at Davidson, Lowery also cooked, cleaned, and babysat for numerous Davidson professors’ families. Lowery largely raised the kids that she babysat for, making her beloved on campus. While she began working at Davidson long before women or Black people were allowed to enroll, she found deep friendship through other Black women serving as cooks on campus.
Outside of Davidson College, Lowery was a long time active member of Gethsemane Baptist Church, the Davidson Progressive Women Club, and the Hot Meal Program. Throughout her life, Lowery served as a friend and mother to all in face of discrimination and hardship.
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14 July 1912
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12 October 2001
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Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity
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"Susie Lowery." Find A Grave. Accessed March 12, 2024, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65366310/susie-lowery
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Torrence, Marjean. "Pillar of Davidson community turns 83." Mecklenburg Gazette, July 12, 1995, B-2.
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Ancestry Library. "Susie Dubose North Carolina, U.S., Marriage Records, 1741-2011." Accessed April 21, 2024.
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