Mary M Lott

Reflections of Life

She is clothed with strength and dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom, and

faithful instruction is on her tongue

Proverbs 31:25 – 26 (NIV)

“Woman of Strength and Sacrifice” … “Woman of Enduring Faith” … “Woman of Quiet Fire”

… or maybe just “Mama”. Hers was a life script proclaiming that God rules the world … just as

she quietly ruled 5906 Brinkman Street, while possessing the untold power that seemed to be a

contradiction of “quiet, and yet loud”. Mary Lott was courageous, future-oriented, strong and

protective. Disciplined instructions definitely flowed from her tongue, while laughing and singing

and listening also occupied those same motherly moments. Her children, family, and friends can

relate to those “Mary Magdalene” or “Sweet Gee” or “Mag” stories in a tapestry of love waiting

to burst forth through those bountiful blessings granted by God.

Mary Magdalene Gee was born August 17, 1926 in Third Ward in Houston, Texas. She was

the fourth of 12 children of Matthew Gee and Alberta Law Gee. Her eight brothers (all deceased

except Andrew) were Matthew Gee, Jr., Ulysses Gee, Herman Gee, Nolan Gee, Clarence Gee,

Leonard Gee, Rivers Gee, and Andrew Gee. Her three sisters (all deceased) were Ernestine Gee,

Betty Mae Love, and Ruth Ella Gee Byrd. The second girl born, she was the “leader of the pack”

when it came to assuming the role and authority of “the one in charge” for grooming and guiding

those younger siblings. The family later moved from Third Ward to Acres Homes when she was

in the 9th grade. There she met Andrew Lott, Jr. and became his tutor for his high school English

course. The Gee family gladly joined the faithful congregation of Wright Grove Baptist Church,

pastored by his father, Rev. Andrew A. Lott, Sr.

Marriage, education, faith and deferred dreams filled the storytelling for Mary for many years.

One year after graduating from Jack Yates High School in Houston, she enrolled at Dillard

University as a nursing major (1944) in the class of 1948. With wartime and pressing

responsibilities back home, she was unable to complete the program at that time, returning home

to Houston. The blessing awaiting her was the beginning of 57 years of marriage to the love of

her life, Andrew A. Lott, Jr.. Together they brought six children into this world (Gail Sue, Andrea

Augusta, Cherri Lynne, Andrew III, Mary Kathryn, and Lisa Elaine), rearing them in a home

guided by their Christian faith and moral decision making. In her home, faith-filled instructions

and even clearer implementation of those Christian instructions paved the way for each child’s

spiritual and academic growth. Instilled within each child was the importance of reinforcing the

goals of hard work, not settling for less than the best you could do, and learning to walk the path

alone, even if you didn’t want to. Mary, Andrew and their children ultimately joined the

Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, where she was active in many church programs. Later,

after the children began their careers, she and Andrew joined the Cathedral of Faith Baptist Church.

The life she cherished also reflected deferred educational and career goals. She worked at Ben

Taub Hospital and Hermann Hospital for several years at levels of nursing employment below the

baccalaureate level . Then, on the Lord’s timetable when the older children were in high school, a

family meeting was held to plan how each child would support Mama’s college success. Mary

enrolled at Texas Woman’s University as a nursing major, graduating in 1967 with the B.S. degree

and, later, earning the master’s degree. After graduation, she worked for several years at the M.D.

Anderson Hospital.

Mary brought that strong, compassionate, and inspirational spirit to her faculty role at the

Prairie View A & M University School of Nursing. During her 20-year Prairie View teaching

career (1971 to 1991), Mary creatively transported the roles she had put into action as Navigator

and Encourager for her family to the professional development of the next generation of nurses.

She laid the foundation for a positive student mentoring environment as shown in these and other

campus-wide Prairie View and School of Nursing experiences : (1) Nominated by Prairie View

President for one of the Outstanding Educators of America, 1973; (2) Founding member of Prairie

View University Faculty Senate; (3) Faculty Sponsor for Sigma Theta Tau International Honor

Society of Nursing. Often, practicing nurses she had taught would proudly respond when asked

about Mrs. Lott, “ … she was a true legacy at Prairie View …”. She had shared not only scholarly

nursing training strategies, but also real world experiences which enriched their professional and

personal development. She definitely inspired the love of learning, which encouraged her children,

grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews to excel in undergraduate and graduate /

professional school programs of study. This spirit of challenge and love could be seen in her

Keynote Speaker address at the Prairie View University School of Nursing Spring, 1991 Honors

Convocation, where she posed these six challenges to students “… (1) maintain a personal

commitment toward your goal; (2) recognize God and those who support you; (3) exemplify a

positive value system; (4) seek a good education; (5) be professional; and (6) support your alma

mater…[and].. “Whatever you do, be the best”…“Don’t be afraid to excel”.

As the story of Mary Magdalene Gee Lott comes to a close, the loving care she received

from her children after Andrew passed in 2005 completes the circle of love. Her children,

grandchildren, great grandchildren, other family and friends had always experienced an

emotionally safe, caring environment with “Mama’, or “Grandmother” or “Aunt Mag” or “Mag”

in their times of need. In her time of need, she and eldest daughter Gail Sue were cared for

primarily by daughters Mary Bush in California and Andrea Wesley and Cherri Lynne Marshall in

Mississippi (Gail passed in 2012). Mary and Cherri always received the full spiritual, nurturing,

and caretaker support from the other siblings. She enjoyed visits and birthday parties with her

adult children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends during these years.

Even with debilitating health challenges in these later years, there were frequently shared “live”

and cell phone photo glimpses of “Mama”. These enduring images can still be remembered by

her 5 surviving children, 19 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren, other relatives and a host of

friends. Whether one laughingly saw a kind and compassionate “Sweet Gee” or a more assertive

“Magdalene” emerge in the moment, love continually flowed freely in their hearts, emphasizing

just how much they were grateful to God that she was still with them. As the storybook closes,

we all could see the “Home at Last” glorious banner from Heaven …. “Homegoing, July 28, 2024”.

A visitation will be held from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM at Paradise Funeral Home, Inc, 10401 West Montgomery, Houston, TX 77088 A funeral service will immediately follow from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM. The committal service for Mary will be held from 3:45 PM to 4:00 PM at Paradise Funeral Home & Cemetery North, 10401 W Montgomery Rd, Houston, TX 77088.