Alberta Suggs-Lofton

Alberta Suggs Lofton, the first of two children born to the late Deacon Oscar Suggs, Sr. and Missionary Agnes Blount Suggs made her debut on November 29, 1920. Her dad celebrated her birth, for he had waited seven years for this miracle -- the birth of his first child. She was educated in the Greenville, North Carolina public schools. Following graduation in 1938, she married Deacon Arthur B. Lofton. and the two moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1941. Their loving marriage spanned fifty-seven years. From this union, six children were born: Celia, Shirlene, James Arthur, Alton Ray, Eric Wayne, and Agnes. For nearly the first two decades of marriage, she was a full-time mother and housewife. She was the very essence of a mother: loving and caring, meticulous as a homemaker, and an excellent cook. Every day she prepared a hot meal for both breakfast and dinner. Her belief that cleanliness was next to godliness was evident in her home and extended to maintaining a clean community. She involved each of her children in Baltimore’s “Clean Block Campaign,” which included washing their white marble steps daily. She also insisted that her children study and strive to attain their highest academic potential. She supported each of them in their many endeavors as they continuously excelled. She attended each child’s graduation, irrespective of the academic level, and their participation in community, school, and church activities. She was also a disciplinarian. Both Alberta and her husband believed if you spared the rod, you spoiled the child. However, as to punishment, it was the proverbial, “wait until Dad gets home.” When her grand and great grandchildren were born, she supported them in similar fashion. She graciously contributed to whatever was needed to ensure their success. Whenever, they visited her, she was ready to go out to eat or shop. In 1954, she began working on a part-time basis for the Baltimore City Public School System but resigned when her youngest daughter, Agnes, became a widow, to care for Agnes’ infant. Some years later she returned to work as a part-time caregiver for seniors and worked until arthritis set in at the age of eighty. Prior to her retirement, she provided 27 years of compassionate and proficient care to the loved one of a prominent Baltimore family. This relationship evolved into a lasting friendship between the two families. Alberta was a witty, smart, determined woman who took great pride in making her own decisions. After her husband died in 1994, she took her role as “head of the family very seriously:” she sold the family home, acquired new housing without assistance from her children, and drove herself up and down Liberty Road. She drove an eighteen year old car until her mechanic told her not to bring it back for repair. The insurance company had twice totaled the car but she insisted that the company give it back…and they did. She carried a valid driver’s license dated to expire in 2017 and lived independently until September 2015. She was a strong woman of faith who gave her life to Christ at age nine. At that age she began a lifetime commitment of discipleship, serving in the United Holy Church of America, initially at Bell Chapel in

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Alberta Suggs-Lofton

November 29, 1920 - February 26, 2016