Bill & Betty Lowry & Family

2020 Spring Gala Honorees

It all started over 65 years ago when William “Peanuts” Lowry came to Lafayette from Memphis to play college football. It was there he met the former Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Jeanmard, and it’s been a Ragin’ Cajun love affair ever since.

They married in 1955 and started their family. Bill and Betty have five children, Mella, Mary Beth, Louie, Claire, and David. Being born and raised in Acadiana, it was natural that they would all attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and follow the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Peanuts played football for two years (a 5’11”, 160-pound starting center) and graduated in 1952 with a degree in business administration. After college, Bill spent four years in the US Marines and became a Marine aviator.

During her college days, Betty was a member of the Red Jackets campus spirit group before graduating in 1954 with a degree in chemistry. She was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and was also valedictorian of her graduating class.

In 1981, they opened Lowry’s Printing and Signs. With hard work and dedicated staff, the business has grown into one of the area’s premier printing and sign companies, who not only supports UL Lafayette but also gives to numerous non-profits throughout Acadiana. The business now includes over 20 employees, including Lowry siblings, Mella, Mary Beth, Louie, and Claire, and now the third generation has also joined the Lowry Team. Everyone at Lowry’s is a Ragin’ Cajuns fan, and it is evident from their much-anticipated UL Lafayette Homecoming display in front of the business every year.

Bill served several years as president of the “S” Club (now the Ragin’ Cajuns Letterman’s Club), and Betty, meanwhile, helped organize the first Red Jacket reunion. By celebrating her 50th graduation anniversary, she was instrumental in assisting the Golden Reunion for her classmates. Bill passed away in July 2011, but his memory lives on at each UL Lafayette function. Someone is always saying, “Mr. Bill would have loved this!”

Support of SLI/USL/UL Lafayette has never wavered. The Lowry family maintains that by supporting the University, you’re lending support to Lafayette’s economy – what’s good for UL is good for Lafayette, and what’s good for Lafayette is good for UL. They think of it as an investment in the school and the community.