J. Cullen Sowers and Jeanette Venza Sowers Education Endowed Scholarship

Jeanette Cecile Venza Sowers was born on October 28, 1908 to NE. and Margarette Cuchia Venza. Jeanette died on December 16, 2009 shortly after her JOI’" birthday. She was one often children. A South Park High School graduate of Beaumont I.S.D. in Beaumont, Texas, Jeanette attended Sam Houston State Teachers College and in 1931 she received her B.S. degree in Elementary Education. She taught at Ogden School until she married her college sweetheart, J Cullen Sowers on September 5, 1934. Jeanette taught school in Virginia during World War II while her husband was stationed at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. She taught in the Austin School District while Cullen was working on his doctorate. After Cullen’s death, she moved back to Beaumont to be near her family. Joseph Cullen Sowers was born on July 16, 1909 on a Houston County farm near Weldon, TX to J.B. and Fannie Sowers. Cullen passed away on August 14, 1972. Cullen was the first of his seven siblings to graduate from SHSTC in 1931 with a B.S. in Agriculture. Each of his siblings followed: Morris “Treetop” ’33, Jessye ’35, Sam ’40 and ’48, Glyn Nell ’41, George ’46, and Lilly Belle attended. Cullen went on to earn his MS. in Agricultural Education in 1936 from Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M). He later attended The University a/Texas Austin where he earned his PhD. He served as an Associate Professor of Agriculture from 1938-1941 at Sam Houston State. He also served as the Director of Admissions and later as the Registrar. He left SHSU to become Dean of the graduate school at East Texas State in Commerce (now Texas A&M Commerce). While Jeanette and Cullen had no children of their own, several of the next generation also attended and graduated from Sam Houston. This is, in itself, a legacy for the Sowers family that realizes that The measure of a Life is its Service.