Margaret Darlene Lowry, or Dar Dar as she preferred to be called (or Mrs. Lowry if you got into trouble at Lorena Middle School), passed peacefully on Wednesday, April 22. She was with her doting and loving husband of 58 years when she said her final earthly goodbye. She was preceded in death by her daddy, D.E. Beeman, her mom Jean Beeman, and her sister Cindy Ledbetter. She is survived by her husband, Gary Lowry, her son Jeff Lowry, her sister Marie Lynch and brothers Randy Beeman and Carl Anders, as well as her niece Rachel Hoff and great-niece Zoey Hoff.

She was ‘mom’ to me, and I can’t imagine how she could have ever been a better or more loving mother. She was a devoted, loving wife, and partner to my dad, from the time they started going out as sophomores at Lorena High School, to the end when she was still more worried about him than she was about herself. She was a faithful member of First Baptist Church Lorena, which she attended her entire life. And above all else she was a passionate and loving friend to so many people. Friends that she collected and cherished from every stage of her life.

Mom took on more than a few endeavors in her life-time, she was a top sales woman for Zales, a successful wedding consultant, and a strict overseer of the detention room at Lorena Middle School, to name a few. But no matter what mom did in life she did it with love and with her special gift of connecting with people. Mom’s most distinct quality, and what we’ll probably remember her most for, is that of never having met a stranger, and it was true, she could talk to anyone. But she also seemed to attract people to her. Many is the time that we would find mom talking to someone, only to find out after her lengthy conversation with them, that she had no idea who they were. She just seemed to have a gift of making anyone feel listened to, and she did it with an effortless grace and sincerity. I think we all know, and strangers sensed it, that mom was a special lady and in her own way she made us all feel special too, connected, and loved.

I can’t believe that she’s really gone, and I imagine if you knew her you can’t believe it either. Mom was not a big person, but she loomed large in the lives of her family and her friends. It is a space we will all struggle to fill as we go on in life, but we will always have our memories and stories of Dar Dar to sustain us. I figure it will be a long time before the impact of mom ever fades from our lives.

Love you, mom…miss you, and see you soon.