Shepherd University President Mary Hendrix, left, and Shepherd University Foundation then-Vice President Christopher Colbert, right, welcome Shepherd alumna Betty Lowe into the Joseph P. McMurran Society at Shepherd University Foundation’s annual dinner reception on April 29, 2017. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Community members said their goodbyes to Shepherdstown native Elizabeth “Betty” Snyder Lowe at Melvin T. Strider Colonial Funeral Home on Friday.

Betty passed away on May 3 at the age of 95, after spending her life enriching the Shepherdstown community with her love for local history and her alma mater, Shepherd University, which she graduated from in 1952.

Shepherd University President Mary Hendrix expressed her sorrow at the news of Betty’s passing.

“Betty Lowe was a Shepherd and community icon. We all benefitted from knowing her, and we were privileged to have had her in our lives,” Hendrix said. “She left an indelible mark on the fabric of our daily lives, and she will remain in our hearts and minds.”

Along with being a proud alumna, Betty served for several years as an active member of the Shepherd University Alumni Association and the Shepherd University Foundation board.

“Betty, who served on the Shepherd University Foundation Board from 2005-2017 and was a current Board Director Emeritus, was one of Shepherd’s most loyal and staunch supporters,” said the Shepherd University Foundation in a statement on May 5. “Her enthusiasm for all things Shepherd was evident in her dedication to the Scarborough Society, serving as a member of the Women for Shepherd advisory group, creating several scholarship funds and giving unwavering support for various other programs — most notably, her work with Phi Sigma Chi (now Tri Sigma) and the restoration of the ‘Yellow House.’ Betty was also a former Alumni Association Board Director, a member of the Joseph P. McMurran Society and was named Alumni of the Year in 2014. Shepherd University and the Foundation will miss her greatly.”

She also attended Shepherdstown Grade School and Shepherdstown High School. After graduating from college, she spent years teaching full-time and substitute positions in Jefferson County, Berryville, Va., Hagerstown, Md. and Augusta, Ga. She also helped established Lowe Products Company, Inc., a mulch business in Shepherdstown, with her husband, John Douglas Lowe, Jr.

The Lowes were married for 48 years, until John’s passing in 2002. They had four sons and one daughter together, who gave them 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

The couple were big supporters of the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department — so much so, that a golf fundraiser for the department was established in memory of John.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Betty Lowe this past week,” said Jefferson Security Bank in a statement on May 9. “This year, as we gathered for the 34th Annual John D. Lowe, Jr. Memorial Golf Classic in support of the Shepherdstown Fire Department, our hearts were a bit heavier.

“For so many years, Betty graced the tournament with her warm presence, sitting on the deck and cheering on the golfers as they finished their rounds,” the statement continued. “She embodied the spirit of community and support that this event represents, and her absence was felt deeply.”

Betty’s work on behalf of local history could be seen in her longtime membership in the Pack Horse Ford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, her 30 years on the Elmwood Cemetery board, her publication of three genealogy books about her family and her designation as the Historian Laureate of Shepherdstown. Her legacy in the field of local history preservation was recognized in 2015, when she was given the Historic Shepherdstown & Museum preservation award.

“Betty was very involved in our chapter and served many years as the chapter registrar, which was perfect for her with her love for genealogy. Having lived her life in Shepherdstown and through her love for genealogy, she held the corporate memory of the town and the families,” said current Pack Horse Ford Chapter President Cindy Nicewarmer. “She was the heart of Shepherdstown, especially after the death of Dr. Jimmy Price, who was the town historian.

“It gave me great comfort to be friends with Betty — someone who knew my dad as a kid, knew my family over the generations, knew my history. Not many people have that these days,” Nicewarmer said. “I don’t live in Shepherdstown and I did not grow up there. My dad moved to Maryland to get a teaching job in the 1950s. But I went to Shepherd and I keep going back, because of the deep connection to people like Betty. In a world that moves so fast and roots are shallow and ever changing, Shepherdstown is home because of Betty and her stories, and her memories. Her passing leaves a deep void, as she is one of the last of her generation, with few to step in to carry those memories.”

Shepherdstown-based historian Jim Surkamp recalled a former project of his, on which he and Betty collaborated.

“During the 1980s, I created the documented script for a video called ‘Antietam Wounded,’ focusing on Shepherdstown residents. I knew Betty Ann slightly, but knew she cared about history. I asked her to come to Mike Sokol’s recording studio in Funkstown and she recorded the letters of Henrietta Bedinger Lee. She was thrilled and so was I,” Surkamp said of the recording experience. “She was a wonderful person — the best of old Shepherdstown.”