# Modena Lowrey Berry > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Modena_Lowrey_Berry > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Modena_Lowrey_Berry.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modena_Lowrey_Berry > Source revision: 1304393405 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American educator}} {{Use American English|date=August 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Modena Lowrey Berry | image = Modena Lowrey Berry circa 1920.jpg | caption = circa 1920 | birth_date = November 16, 1850{{Cite web|url=https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/modena-lowry-berry/|title=Mississippi Encyclopedia (Berry, Modena Lowry [sic])|accessdate=August 4, 2025}} | birth_place = [Farmington, Mississippi](/source/Farmington%2C_Mississippi), US | death_date = {{death date|1942|1|31}} | death_place = [Blue Mountain, Mississippi](/source/Blue_Mountain%2C_Mississippi), US | occupation = cofounder [Blue Mountain Female Institute](/source/Blue_Mountain_Christian_University), [Educator](/source/Educator) | spouse = William Edwin Berry (b. 1847 – d. 1919)[http://files.usgwarchives.net/ms/tippah/cemeteries/bluemtn.txt Blue Mountain Cemetery, Tippah Co., MS]. Retrieved August 4, 2025. |children = 3 }} '''Modena Lowrey Berry''' (November 16, 1850 – January 31, 1942) was cofounder of [Blue Mountain Female Institute](/source/Blue_Mountain_Christian_University) in [Blue Mountain, Mississippi](/source/Blue_Mountain%2C_Mississippi) in 1873 and served as a faculty member and vice president of the institute for the next 61 years. ==Biography== Modena Lowrey was born November 16, 1850, in [Farmington, Mississippi](/source/Farmington%2C_Mississippi) to [Mark Perrin Lowrey](/source/Mark_Perrin_Lowrey) and Sarah Holmes Lowrey and was the eldest of eleven children. She was educated at the Buchanan School for Girls (aka Stonewall College) in [Ripley, Mississippi](/source/Ripley%2C_Mississippi) and graduated in 1869.{{Cite web|url=https://www.msgw.org/tippah/Ripley/Ripleyedu.html|title=Education in Ripley, MS|website=www.msgw.org|accessdate=August 4, 2025}} That same year, Modena's father purchased the Brougher estate in Blue Mountain, Mississippi.{{Cite web|url=https://www.genealogytrails.com/miss/tippah/bios/lowreybg.html|title=Tippah County, MS Biographies|website=www.genealogytrails.com|accessdate=August 4, 2025}} In 1871, Modena and her sister Margaret enrolled at Baptist Female College in [Pontotoc, Mississippi](/source/Pontotoc%2C_Mississippi) and graduated in 1873.{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/hudsonberryhisde00berr|title=Hudson Berry and his descendants, by Lloyd E. Berry, and, A compilation of the Berry, Gaines, and Harrison families, by Mary R. Riley.|first=Lloyd E.|last=Berry|date=1956|publisher=Pelzer, S. C., Berry-Gaines-Harrison Reunion, 1956.|accessdate=August 4, 2025|via=Internet Archive}}{{rp|35-39}} Upon returning home to Blue Mountain, the sisters and their father cofounded Blue Mountain Female Institute in 1873 on the site of the Brougher plantation and used the plantation home to board female students.{{rp|35-39}} Although Modena Berry served in a number of positions at Blue Mountain Institute, her main contributions were as principal and vice president for 61 years (1873 to 1934). Because of her compassion shown towards the students, she was usually addressed by them as ''Mother Berry''. ==Personal life== In 1876, Modena Lowrey married William Edwin Berry (b. 1847 – d. 1919), who was professor of Greek and Latin as well as business manager at Blue Mountain Female Institute.{{rp|35-39}} The couple lived in Blue Mountain and were the parents of three children.{{rp|38-39}} Modena Berry died at her home in Blue Mountain on January 31, 1942 at age 91 and was interred in Blue Mountain Cemetery. ==Legacy== The Blue Mountain Female Institute, that Modena Lowrey Berry cofounded with her father and sister, eventually became [Blue Mountain Christian University](/source/Blue_Mountain_Christian_University).{{Cite web|url=https://www.bmc.edu/bmcu-mission-history|title=BMCU Mission | History|website=www.bmc.edu|accessdate=August 4, 2025}} Modena Berry became the second woman in state history to be inducted into the Mississippi Hall of Fame to honor her significant contributions to the state.{{Cite web |date=May 23, 1979 |title=Blue Mountain College Historic District{{!}} NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/eb241485-c3d1-45fa-b106-dbfc4b58149a |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=nps.gov}}{{Cite web |title=The Mississippi Hall of Fame |url=http://mdah.state.ms.us/oldcap/hof.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402011449/http://mdah.state.ms.us/oldcap/hof.pdf |archive-date=April 2, 2016 |access-date=August 1, 2025 }} Her portrait is on display in Mississippi's [Old Capitol Museum](/source/Old_Mississippi_State_Capitol) in [Jackson](/source/Jackson%2C_Mississippi).{{Cite web |title=Mississippi Hall of Fame {{!}} Mississippi Department of Archives & History |url=https://www.mdah.ms.gov/mississippi-hall-fame?page=0 |access-date=2025-08-01 |website=www.mdah.ms.gov}} ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Modena Lowrey}} Category:1850 births Category:1942 deaths Category:19th-century American women academics Category:19th-century American academics Category:Educators from Mississippi Category:People from Tippah County, Mississippi Category:University and college founders Category:19th-century people from Mississippi --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Modena Lowrey Berry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modena_Lowrey_Berry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modena_Lowrey_Berry?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.