Lowry, Edith (1897–1970)

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Lowry, Edith (1897–1970)

American religious organization executive. Born Edith Elizabeth Lowry, Mar 23, 1897, in Plainfield, NJ; died Mar 11, 1970, in Claremont, NH; dau. of Robert Hanson Lowry Jr. (banker) and Elizabeth (Darling) Lowry; Wellesley College, AB, 1920.

Was migrant program director of Council of Women for Home Missions (1929–62); became executive secretary of Council of Women (1936); authored booklet, They Starve That We May Eat (1938), and helped compile Tales of Americans on Trek (1940); was 1st woman to occupy National Radio Pulpit (1939); became coexecutive secretary when Council of Women merged with Home Missions Council of North America (1940); established day-care centers for children of migrant workers (1940s), and worked to inform migrants about eligibility for Social Security; became executive secretary of division of home missions when Home Missions Council became National Council of Churches (1950–62); was part-time consultant to National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor in Washington, DC (1962–64); retired to Perkinsville, Vermont (1965).