Pearl Leonora Lowe was born October 13, 1932, on Green Turtle Cay, Abaco to Osgood Joseph Lowe (1886-1970) and Sally Naomi Saunders (1903-2002).
Her siblings included…
Chester Reginald (1922)
Pearl received her education at the Green Turtle Cay All Age Public School, where she was later employed as a Monitor Teacher’s Aid for two years. She was also a Store Clerk at The Big Shop owned by her uncle and also employed at Lowe’s Food Store. She served as agent for the mailboats for 58 years until her retirement.
Pearl never married but became an adopted mother to her nephews, nieces and youth in the community. She loved cooking and baking. She enjoyed preparing Stew Chicken and Dumplings as a New Year’s Day tradition. Everyone enjoyed her pound cake and donuts.
She was a skilled seamstress and used her talent to also create costumes for church productions.
Pearl became a follower of Jesus Christ on March 12, 1945, under the ministry of Bishop John Davis Sr. Two years later she was baptized and joined the Miracle Church of God in Green Turtle Cay. She served as Sunday School Superintendent, Youth Leader, Teacher, Clerk, Treasurer, Pastor’s Council, Associate Pastor, and Senior Pastor with distinction. She was an ordained minister of the Church of God Cleveland, Tennessee. Following the footsteps of her father and grandfather, Pearl served as pastor of the Church of God on Green Turtle Cay for 35 nonconsecutive years.
Alton R. Lowe recalls…
This is a story of not just a house, but the people who lived in it. How often do we walk past a house and wonder who lives in it and what is their history? Let me tell you the story of the people in this house. Pearl’s parents built the house in which she was born and spent her entire life. My first memory of Sister Pearl was when I was five years old. She was my Sunday school teacher, and after we learned the shortest verse in the Bible, “Jesus wept.”, we went on to weekly learn longer and longer verses. Good for the memory and good for the soul.
She was pretty and bright and from the beginning worked hard helping to take care of her parents. For a number of years she worked as a collector of freight for the freight boat, the “Stede Bonnet”, named after a pirate. She ran a shop and later worked in her brother Chester’s grocery store. Her glazed donuts were the best in the village! “Is that all?”, you may ask. No, it is not. Pearl traveled extensively with her church group visiting China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, and many times the United States.
I can see her now walking down the street, carrying an umbrella to protect her from the sun, smiling and saying “Hello” to everyone she met. She participated in all the local events and was a great supporter of the Albert Lowe Museum. Pearl had a pleasant singing voice and loved joining the parades and singing the old patriotic songs from her youth. So there you have it: a life well lived and perhaps not what you expected looking at my painting of a simple cottage on a small island in The Bahamas.
Pearl Leonora Lowe passed away October 2, 2020 (age 87) on Green Turtle Cay, Abaco and is buried at the Green Turtle Cay Cemetery.
