Teaching was more than a job for Peggy Lowry, it was a passion, friends and family say.
“She taught wherever she could,” said her daughter, Julie Lowry Pilchard, of Canton. “Church, school, it didn’t matter. She just loved it.”
Mrs. Lowry taught math for 25 years in Fulton County, retiring in 1992, according to school system records. She taught at the former Briarwood High School for 20 years, and spent her last five at Creekside High School, her daughter said.
During her career, Mrs. Lowry taught several levels of math, from advanced calculus to basic math.
Sue Rhone, who taught with Mrs. Lowry at Briarwood, said the way her friend switched from high-level math to basic math was impressive.
“There was no slacking in her classes,” the former foreign language teacher said. “She had a very high standard, and she expected each of her students to meet it.”
Mrs. Rhone said a number of students had contacted Mrs. Lowry over the years to thank her for demanding the best from them.
“She was very tough, I’ll say it like that,” Mrs. Rhone said. “But they got in touch with her and told her how invaluable her instruction and teaching had been when they were college students.”
Peggy Baker Lowry, of College Park, died Monday at Southwest Christian Hospice in Union City, of complications from pancreatic cancer. She was 81. A celebration of life service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at East Point Christian Church. Burial at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens will follow. Carmichael Hemperly Funeral Home, East Point Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
In addition to teaching in public schools, Mrs. Lowry taught Sunday school at Westside Christian Church, Mrs. Pilchard said.
“She taught an adult class for years,” she said. “She loved the Lord, and loved teaching about and talking about the Lord.”
What Mrs. Lowry loved best about teaching was when students fully understood what she was saying.
“She’d say she could see the light bulb go off,” her daughter said. “She could see it in their eyes, and she loved that.”
Mrs. Lowry was more than a good teacher, Mrs. Rhone said. She was also a remarkable friend of 42 years.
“She would share in the joys of your life, as well as the sorrows,” Mrs. Rhone said. “She made me a better person.”
Mrs. Lowry is also survived by her husband of 62 years, Emery Lowry of College Park; sons, Paul Gordon Lowry of Dunwoody, and David Scott Lowry of Marietta; 8 grandchildren; 3 great grandchildren and one sister, Joyce Baker Watkins, of Birmingham, Ala.
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