On October 3, 2025, we will be celebrating a truly remarkable milestone-the 105th birthday of Hazel Suggs Burley, a pivotal figure in the Nashville community and a charter member of the Ardent Gardeners Club. As a fellow gardening enthusiast, I have had the privilege and honor to spend time with Mrs. Burley this summer. Her birthday will be a momentous occasion that we are all eagerly looking forward to, as we celebrate the life and legacy of this extraordinary woman.
I spent the 4th of July learning Nashville gardening history from Mrs. Burley who created the history.
It was evident from the meticulous floral arrangement demonstrations in the pictures that Mrs. Burley and her club members had managed to make gardening the center of their volunteer service in the community. These trailblazing women, much like squares for quilts, stitched gardening and serving others together. Their collective efforts are representative of giving back, much like the quilts in many African American homes, which are sewn by hand for warmth but are also beautiful works of art that tell the history of families, neighbors, communities, and our nation.
Mrs. Burley sharing photos and a program about floral arrangements from Idaho University, 1969.
When I shared my photos of the Hostas being replanted in other areas of the garden and drawings of the placements of the plants that were to be donated and planted in the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden, Mrs. Burley's eyes lit up with joy. Her enthusiasm for the project brought a sense of hope and optimism to those of us who were volunteering in the garden.
S. L. Lampkin IV, MD Assistant Professor of Family & Community Medicine volunteered with MGs.
In May, the Master Gardeners met with the hospital staff to discuss potential events for a soft reopening of the garden. As I pulled weeds from a flowerbed, I remarked, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to bring Mrs. Burley here to see the progress we’ve made?” Then I thought of an even better idea: “What if we brought her here on her 105th birthday?” We were eager for Mrs. Burley, as a charter member of the Ardent Gardeners, to see that her legacy in serving others through gardening, which included the establishment of the Doris Campbell Busby Memorial Garden, would be continued by Master Gardeners and devoted volunteers.
Mrs. Burley was the eldest of four children. She was born in the ‘twenties to Joseph Edward Suggs and Mable Hemphill. Her father, a veteran of World War I and a survivor of the Normandy Invasion, was a football coach at Tennessee State University. Her mother was also a graduate of TSU. They often traveled to Robertson County to teach the community how to can and preserve farm produce.
Mrs. Hazel Burley's father, Coach Joseph Edward Suggs with 1925 Tennessee Gridiron State Champions.
Mrs.Hazel Burley's mother announcing her run for 21st District Runoff in 11/23/1962 The Tennessean.
The two founded a mom-and-pop grocery store, which they used to encourage people to participate in the voting process. Mrs. Burley's mother, Mable Hemphill Suggs, was deeply involved in the community. She even ran for an elected office during a time when few African Americans held local or state offices in Tennessee. Mrs. Burley's mother's family included the relatives who founded Hemphill Press in 1886 in Nashville, TN. The printing company was in the family for 112 years.
A history of entrepreneurial lineage that stressed education, Mrs. Burley was a graduate of the last class to attend school at the old Pearl High School building on 16th Street in Nashville. She attended TSU like her mother and father before her and graduated cum laude with a major in English. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Mu honor society and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Howard Burley's College Graduation Program for Howard University in 1943.
While at TSU, she met Howard L. Burley, Sr. He had received a scholarship to study at Howard University School of Pharmacy in Washington, D.C., which he accepted. After a year’s separation, Hazel and Howard married and moved to the nation’s capital, where she worked at the Bureau of Engraving while her husband attended school and worked as a guard in a medical museum.
The Tennessean's featured interview with Dr. Burley, Sr., a Community Icon 5-20-2002.
After working at a few pharmacies in D.C., the couple moved back to Nashville, where Dr. Burley, Sr. opened Consumer’s Drug Store on Main Street in East Nashville. No strangers to families being proprietors, the Burleys worked and served the community for 60 years. Many East Nashvillians have fond memories of getting prescriptions filled by Dr. Burley and getting a scoop of ice cream while waiting. The Burleys' unwavering commitment to serving the community for six decades is a testament to their dedication and a source of inspiration for us all. The Burleys were married for 71 years until he passed in 2012 at the age of ninety-five.
The Burleys had exceptional children: Viola Burley Leak, an educator and renowned visual artist, and Howard L. Burley Jr., M.D. Dr. Burley and his wife, Dr. Rhonda Cunningham-Burley, made them the proud grandparents of Raina and Rachel Burley.
Hazel Burley attending The Annual Torch Awards Banquet, a fundraiser for TSU.
Throughout her life, Mrs. Burley has shown a deep commitment to her home, family, and community. Her active participation in clubs for mothers and child development, and her unwavering devotion to her church, Gordon Memorial, serve as a shining example of selflessness. However, it is her involvement in the Ardent Gardener’s Club, a club she helped to charter and was dedicated to promoting gardening and community service, which has been one of the shining highlights of her volunteer career, inspiring us all by her dedication to service.
Mrs.Burley's home was always a gathering place for the community.Notice of Garden Club Meeting, 1989 Tennessean.
Her selflessness to serving her community are a testament to her character and a source of inspiration for us all. Mrs. Burley attributes her long life to the unwavering support from her family, friends, church, and the community. She acknowledges that good genes play a part, given that her mother lived to be 106 years old and her father to ninety-five.
The Ardent Gardeners’ fortieth-anniversary luncheon at Cheekwood on April 7, 1991 (front row left to right): Lillian Thomas, Mattie Johnson, Delores Crump, Ruth Grant, Isabel Watkins, Gretchen Payne, Carrie Denney, Alberta Bontemps, Elise Frazier, Blanche Ennix, Willie Mae Martin, Mattie Flowers (back row left to right): Zenobia Beck, Eugenia McGinnis, Rachel Lindsay, Kathleen Lawrence, Tyree Miller, Corinne Schuster, Alice Archer, Hazel Burley, Dora McClellan, Helena Perry, Jayme Williams, Patsy Petway. Ardent Gardeners Association Records, 1951-1998, Box 3, Folder 7.
However, she emphasizes that the strong bonds she has formed with her community have been a significant factor in her longevity and happiness. This underscores the importance of community in our lives and its profound impact on our well-being, making us all feel connected and valued.
For her Centenarian birthday, the Nashville community celebrated with a socially distanced parade! Cars rolled by with well-wishers who were delighted to know she was healthy and safe during the pandemic. At that time, her daughter Viola shared, "She has good health practices and subscribes to and reads many journals. She believes in the importance of all lives mattering, and she achieves this through her persistence, education, family unity, financial planning, and networking. Her commitment to her health and well-being is truly inspiring.”
Knowing she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta, this red scarf was perfect for the occasion.
Before my visit ended, I shared gifts from my garden club meeting, which was held in March, where friends and Master Gardeners were in attendance. I knew from my grandmother's garden club meetings that the hostess gave small gifts to thank guests. I remembered my upbringing and brought along a few items that I thought she would like. The big smile from early that day doubled in size as she opened gift bags. I was a complete waterfall of tears at that moment, seeing her joy.
We reached for each other to give hugs. I held her tightly, knowing that she needed her rest. As I gathered my notepad and a recorder, Morganne Norrwood, a freelance photographer who accompanied me, was wiping tears from her eyes as I fumbled looking for a tissue for both of us. "You should have prepared," she said with a small laugh, as we walked outside.
Once outside, we hugged each other for a few seconds. We both knew we had captured history. Glorious history. No words were needed as we both savored the silence between us.
Photos credits:
Mrs. Hazel Burley and Genma Holmes :Morganne Norwood for Bliss Media Group.
Genma Holmes
The Burley Family
Tennessean Archives
Tennessee State Library and Archives
