Mrs. Bertha Lou Lowe

LOWE, Mrs. Bertha Lou - Age 91, passed away Thursday, March 14, 2013 at McLaren-Flint. Family hour 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23, 2013 at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, 2120 N. Saginaw Street, with funeral service commencing at 12 p.m. Pastor Keith Bigelow officiating. Interment Sunset Hills Cemetery, G-4413 Flushing Rd. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the Church 11 a.m. Saturday. Mrs. Lowe will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed Saturday at the church during family hour only. Mrs. Bertha Lou Lowe was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Hattie and Joe Thornton on August 31, 1922. Bertha graduated from Dunbar High School in Bessemer, AL, "Class of 1940." For many years Mrs. Lowe was employed as a domestic housekeeper in Bessemer, AL. Later in life, Bertha relocated to Massapequa, New York where she became a member of Word of Life Ministries, located in Freeport, New York, under the leadership of Pastor Steven Erower. While living in New York, Bertha enjoyed spending time with her family and enjoyed talking with her neighbors. She also loved to eat in restaurants. Her many hobbies included- traveling, shopping at Macys, and gardening in the spring and summer months. Bertha was infamous for her infectious laugh, cleaning the kitchen and acquiring ‘pretty things’. She was affectionately known as ‘Madear’ and ‘Brown Sugar’ to her family and friends. Mrs. Bertha L. Lowe leaves to cherish her memory: six children: son, Melvin Thornton of Birmingham, AL; five daughters, Josephine Jackson of Massapequa, NY, Bessie Lee Lowe of Amityville, NY, Yvonne (R.J.) Kirksey of St.Louis, MO, Betty Herron of Ann Arbor, MI and Annie Thomas of Flint, MI; 6 great-great grandchildren; dear family friend, Bernard Jackson of Flint, MI. In addition, she leaves to cherish special cousin, Henry (Pumpkin) Key of St. Louis, MO and sister-in-law, Loretta Thornton of Toledo, OH. Mrs. Lowe was preceded in death by her beloved son, John (Walter) Lowe; mother, Hattie Key Thornton; father, Joe Thornton; brother, James Thornton; and sister, Pearl Simmons. The family would like to express special thanks towards Pastor and wife Keith J. (Francoise) Bigelow and the Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, the McLaren-Flint (5th floor-ICU staff) and Nurse Nancy.

Mrs. Bertha Lou Lowe

August 31, 1921 - March 14, 2013