DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Maud Anna Berry Smith Fuller — and friend, this one deserves every word. Some lives are long. Some lives are full.
And then, every once in a while, you come across a life that is both — so thoroughly, so completely, that you have to stop the truck and just sit with it a moment. Maud Anna Berry Smith Fuller was born on October 7, 1868. She lived until January 26, 1972.
You do that math. One hundred and three years. More than a century of living, and by every account the marker gives us, she filled each one of those years to the brim.
She came into the world in Lockhart, the daughter of Hugh and Anna Barry, and she was both born and reared there, attending public school in that Central Texas town. But Lockhart was just the beginning of the story. From there, Maud pursued her education with the kind of intention that doesn't leave much room for doubt.
She completed her studies at Guadalupe College in Seguin and then at Tillotson College right here in Austin. And when she was done with school, she turned around and gave it right back — embarking on a teaching career that spanned twenty-five years. Twenty-five years of standing at the front of a classroom, shaping young minds.
In 1914, she married W. H. Fuller.
And together, beginning in 1932, she and her husband owned and operated a funeral home in East Austin. You think about the range of that — a woman who spent decades teaching the living, and then built a business dedicated to honoring the dead with dignity. But the teaching and the business?
Those are almost footnotes to the larger work she was doing. Maud Fuller was a woman of deep Baptist faith, an active member of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Austin, and that faith moved through everything she touched. She led efforts to organize several local and national youth organizations.
She led many international missionary efforts. She served the Women's Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention as corresponding secretary — and then, in 1928, she was elected president of that Auxiliary. Not appointed.
Elected. And she wasn't done collecting honors. In 1954 — when most folks her age were well into their twilight years — Maud Fuller received an honorary humanities degree from the Union Baptist Theological Seminary of Houston.
From that day forward, she was Dr. Fuller. The marker calls her one of Austin's most revered African American civic and religious leaders, and it remembers her specifically for her generosity, her inspirational speeches, her Baptist missionary activity, her teaching abilities, and her compassion for those less fortunate than herself.
That's not a list of accomplishments. That's a portrait of a person. Dr.
Maud Anna Berry Smith Fuller was buried in Austin's Evergreen Cemetery. Born 1868. Laid to rest after 1972.
One hundred and three years of pouring herself out for other people. Some roads in Texas will take you somewhere. And some lives — well, some lives show you what the destination could look like.
What the marker says
(October 7, 1868 – January 26, 1972) One of Austin’s most revered African American civic and religious leaders, Maud Anna Berry Smith Fuller is best remembered for her generosity, inspirational speeches, Baptist missionary activity, teaching abilities, and compassion for those less fortunate than herself. The daughter of Hugh and Anna Barry, Maud was born and reared in Lockhart where she attended public school. After completing her studies at Guadalupe College in Seguin and Tillotson College in Austin, she embarked on a distinguished teaching career that spanned 25 years. She married W. H. Fuller in 1914. Influenced by a deep devotion to her Baptist beliefs, Maud Fuller led efforts to organize several local and national youth organizations and led many international missionary efforts while an active member of the Ebenezer Baptist Church of Austin and the Women’s Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention. She served the Auxiliary as corresponding secretary prior to her election as president in 1928. She became Dr. Fuller in 1954 after receiving an honorary humanities degree from the Union Baptist Theological Seminary of Houston. She and her husband owned and operated a funeral home in East Austin beginning in 1932. She was buried in Austin’s Evergreen Cemetery. (1993)