Leona Francis Lowery was born on November 13, 1908 in Fairhaven Vermont. Seen here with her grandparents, Leona was proud of her Welsh heritage.
The daughter of William and Elizabeth Williams Francis, Leona received an education in Utica schools. Leona’s first job was as a ‘hat check’ girl at Uticas first Department Store. It was there that she met, fell in love with and married her boss, Clarence Lowery, in 1929.
During WW2 Leona worked making parachutes for the war. After the war she opened the first successful ‘woman owned’ business in Utica. She was the proud owner of the Leona Lowery Dress Shop on Devereaux Street, a store which specialised in selling blouses.
Leona Sue Shephard, the creator behind the highly successful High Vibe Tribe on Instagram, who cared for Leona in her final years, remembers her great aunt, who she describes as being a ‘real lady’, with great affection.
She recalls that it was this great aunt who took in both her and her mother, and found her mother a job after she was disowned by her family when she became pregnant at just 16. At the time her Aunt Leona was taking care of her, she was simultaneously nursing her husband who was bedridden with a stroke.
“She wore dresses every day (never slacks), slips, nylon stockings, heels, pearls and a hat. She was a really elegant lady”
Leona fondly remembers being fussed over and nurtured by her aunt and treasures memories of her little pink bedroom with a vanity, silver hairbrush, mirror, dolls and dollhouses. She also recalls the elegant dinner parties her aunt hosted and how her aunt used the “Emily Posts Book of Etiquette” to teach her ‘proper manners’ such as how to curtsy, sit, eat, speak, walk and dress. She smiles when she remembers being dressed by her in beautiful dresses with accessories such as white gloves and hats.
It all came to an abrupt halt five years later when her father was released from prison and took both her and her mother away to live in a run down old house infested with mice. Later in life her Aunt shared how their departure shattered her heart.
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