Maplewood woman celebrates her 102nd birthday

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — In 1919, the pop-up toaster and shortwave radio had just been invented; the name Dorothy was included among the most popular choices for baby girls; the Treaty of Versailles was signed in Paris ending World War I; the first rotary-dial telephone was introduced to the American public; the 18th Amendment authorizing Prohibition went into effect; the U.S. Congress approved the 19th Amendment guaranteeing suffrage to women; and, on Oct. 7 of that same year, Dorothy Turner was born in Crawfordville, Ga., to Bishop and Luella Turner. 

Fast-forward 100 years to Maplewood, October 2019, when family, friends and local officials, amid a host of legislative proclamations, gathered to celebrate the 100th birthday of Dorothy Turner Pownes, just missing the 2020 COVID pandemic shutdown. Fast-forward again to Oct. 7, 2021, when Pownes turned 102 years young.

As a child, Pownes relocated to Pittsburgh, Pa., circa 1923, upon her father’s graduation from Morehouse College. He was hired to open the National Benefit Insurance Agency, a proud beacon of black achievement and enterprise in the early decades of the 20th century, despite the harsh constraints of Jim Crow. Pownes would graduate from Schenley High School, and later work for the Bell Telephone Co. In 1944, she answered an ad and passed the federal exam for a position at the Office of Dependency Benefits, relocating to New Jersey and settling in South Orange. 

Soon after, she met the love of her life and future husband, Jacob Pownes. Following his call to service in World War II, Dorothy and Jacob Pownes were married in South Orange on Oct. 14, 1945, by the Rev. Dr. Leon Sullivan, former minister of First Baptist Church in South Orange; founder of Opportunities Industrialization Centers in Philadelphia, Pa.; and a leader in the dismantling of South Africa’s system of Apartheid. The Pownes and their son, Jeffrey, resided in their first home on Second Street before moving to Maplewood in 1972, sharing many happy memories in the twin towns. Dorothy Pownes was also a member of Union Baptist Church in Orange, briefly, before returning to her home church, First Baptist Church in South Orange. 

At 102, Dorothy Pownes continues to be a trailblazer and living legend, committed to service, civil rights, and political and community activism. Highlights of her life include: being the first black saleswoman at Kresge department store; employment by the RCA Complaint Office and Travelers Insurance; successful career with the Essex County Welfare Board, from where she retired as a supervisor in 1987, during which time she was recognized by the Essex County freeholders as an “outstanding employee”; being a Sunday School teacher and superintendent, and holding a range of offices with the Womens’ Guild; being co-founder and leader in the establishment the Girl Scouts Brownie troops at First Baptist in the 1950s; membership and leadership with national and international organizations, such as The Church Women United, serving as president from 1990 until recently, and organizer of the World Day of Prayer, World Community Day and World Friendship Day, and recipient of the Most Valiant Woman of the Year Award; being a charter member and co-founder of the South Orange Fair Housing Association and the South Orange Civic Organization, both precursors to the South Orange/Maplewood Community Coalition on Race; being a lifelong member of the NAACP; participation in voter rights activism, including benign the first black volunteer on the Board of Elections; being the subject of a Yale University doctoral dissertation on social justice in diverse communities; and being named the 2009 Living Legend in honor of the 120th anniversary of FBCSO. 

Dorothy Pownes, affectionately called “Aunt Dotty,” recently received centenarian recognition on a jar of Smuckers strawberry jam. Even at age 102, Dorothy Pownes remains a role model; culture keeper; civil rights advocate; avid viewer of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune”; daily reader of three newspapers; loving matriarch; vibrant conversationalist; and a beloved living legacy to more than five generations of immediate and extended family members and friends.

  First Baptist Church of South Orange