Miriam R. Fowler

MIRIAM ROGERS FOWLER, age 72, of Chelsea, Alabama passed away April 3, 2012 after a long and valiant struggle with cancer. She was a lifelong member of the Church of Christ. Her faith in Christ was the bedrock of her life and she influenced many others to follow Christ. She truly had a servant’s heart and her hospitable and generous spirit was an inspiration to all. She had the voice of an angel and she loved to sing. Because of her illness, she lost her ability to sing and said she could not wait to get to heaven and sing again. She was a “beautiful soul” that truly inspired so many lives. She was preceded in death by her parents Aaron Brown Rogers, Sr. and Ulna Colvett Rogers. She is survived by her daughter April Roy of Helena, AL; daughter Felicia Carver and son-in-law Wayne of Destin, FL; son David F. Fowler, Jr. and daughter-in-law Jenny of Montevallo; David Fowler, Sr., father of her children; sister Marty Skelton and husband Duane of Auburn, Alabama; brother Aaron Brown Rogers, Jr. and wife Catherine of Birmingham, AL; sister Mary Elizabeth Dupont and husband Bob of Lakeworth, Florida; and seven beloved grandchildren (Stephen, Ashley, Cherish, Andrew, Amanda, Katie and Mickey). She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and cousins that were very special to her and her beloved border collie Emmy Lou. A special thanks to her dear friend Roland Monette and lifelong best friend Jeanette Gerald. Miriam graduated Woodlawn High School class of 1957 and earned bachelors and master’s degrees at the Univ. of Alabama Birmingham, winning the David Hart White Award as Outstanding Graduate Student at UAB. She worked initially as a Yellow Pages commercial artist but went on to become a leader in many artistic, historical, educational and cultural endeavors of local to international significance. As President of the Shelby County Historical Society she led restoration of the old 1854 County Courthouse at Columbiana and turned it into the showcase Shelby County Museum it is today. She was awarded the nationally coveted Reynolds Foundation Scholarship in 1986 and studied American history, art, literature and music at Wake Forest University and the Reynolds Museum of American Art. Appointed by the Governor of Alabama in 1988 to serve as Director, Alabama State Artists Gallery in Montgomery, she promoted visual arts throughout the State’s educational systems, for which achievements she won the Governor’s Excellence Award. The international honor, the Cultural Olympiad Award, was presented to Miriam by the 1996 Atlanta Olympics Commission for her American folk-cultural exhibition “Singing Quilts” which won in competition against many other nations. Appointed Curator of Education at Birmingham Museum of Art in 1996, she provided energy and creativity behind many notable Alabama cultural and educational projects, including restoration of Vulcan statue in 2002, the museum’s holocaust exhibition “Memories of Survival” and the acclaimed exhibit “A Town of the Creek Nation – 1790” for which Miriam achieved endorsement by and support of the entire Creek Indian Nation. She retired in 2006, an accomplished scholar, distinguished professional, dedicated educator, historian, artist, loving mother and grandmother, sister in Christ and close friend of so many people of all races and walks of life. Thank you to the kind and professional staff at UAB hospital and Kirkland clinic who also took such wonderful care of her during her illness.

Visitation will be Friday, April 6, 2012 from 6 pm to 8 pm at Southern Heritage Funeral Home.

The celebration of her life and internment will be Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 11 am at Southern Heritage Funeral Home.