Sarah K. Lyons

SARAH KATHERINE PEAKER LYONS was born on February 26, 1910 in Joppa, Harford County, Maryland the third of eight children of the late Lloyd Timothy Peaker and Julia Lavenia (Dorsey) Peaker. In the early morning of Monday, December 12, 2005, "Kit" or "Kitty", as she was known by most, quietly slipped away to eternal rest. Katherine's elementary education was at McComas Institute, Singer Road, Joppa, Harford County. This school was one of three schools established 1867 in Maryland at the end of the Civil War by the U. S. Freeman's Bureau for the education of emancipated slaves. If a community wished to receive a Bureau grant for a school, it had to provide the land on which it could be built. Katherine's grandfather, Peter Bishop, was instrumental in raising the $30 to purchase an acre of land adjacent to the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church (of which he was a founder) for the school. Her mother came from Baltimore to be the teacher at the Institute in 1904. She sent Kitty to Baltimore live with her family and to attend Baltimore Public Schools in 1920. In Baltimore she attended elementary schools PS 103, PS 112, and Frederick Douglass High School. Upon the death of her mother in 1927, Kit returned to Harford County to assist her father in raising her two youngest siblings, Henry and Laura who were twelve and eight years old, respectively. Once the family was stable, she returned to Baltimore and began to work as an assistant cook and later as cook for several of the Jewish families of the 1200 and 1300 Blocks of Eutaw Place. In 1935, she started training as a Beautician at Poro College, School of Beauty Culture. Upon graduation she apprenticed in several beauty parlors along Laurens St. and Pennsylvania Ave. In 1936 she opened her own shop on Myrtle Ave.; however, after 12 months she gave up the shop, giving its equipment to her sister, Marguerite, and sought employment downtown in white beauty shops. No one would hire her, until she met Elizabeth Cobb, owner of a beauty salon in the 500 Block North Charles St., who agreed to let her do shampoos. She quickly absorbed Cobb's techniques for tinting and hair dyeing until she became the salon's principal expert. She was also blessed with beautiful hands, long fingers with long angular nails which she kept meticulously manicured. Cobb's clientele began to notice and remark that Katherine's nails always looked much better than theirs; at that point Cobb shrewdly made Katherine the first black manicurist on Charles St and we believe the first downtown. She worked for Elizabeth Cobb for over 50 years, through several other locations - 3400 N. Charles and Greenway Apartments; they became close friends. Cobb was great benefactor to Katherine over those years. She married Uriah Lyons in 1934, but they separated in 1976. He passed in 1985. In 1976 she moved to the Bolton House Apartments. She lived there almost twenty-five years acquiring a host of friends there. She was an active member of the Hospitality Club at Bolton House. Kitty remained independent, socially active, and able to travel wherever she wished until she fell in 2000 when she was ninety. Katherine was very attractive and had a flair for clothing and shoes and their design. She adored shopping and always had an eye for the latest fashions and always recognized the newest styles. She was able to acquire many items from high-end fashion shops through her contacts she met via the beauty salon. Katherine was a devout Catholic who attended St. Gregory the Great Roman Catholic Church. She will be remembered as a family-oriented, and supportive person. She was a nurturing mother who instilled in her son, Harry, a strong value system. She was soft spoken with a warm and gentle spirit. Her personality attracted numerous friends and acquaintances. She has left us with beautiful and tender memories. She was preceded in death by three brothers, Jesse, Henry, Joseph and three sisters Anita, Marguerite, and Magadalene. She leaves to cherish her memory her son Harry Xavier Peaker; six grandsons, H. Scott Peaker, Derek Brooks, Carl Brooks, Gerald Brooks, Jeffrey Brooks and Jerome Brooks; sister, Laura Wallace; ten grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends.

Tributes

Sarah K. Lyons

February 26, 1910 - December 12, 2005