About Us
P.O. Box 3558
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-3558
Strowd Roses, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Jump to: Gene & Irene Strowd | Strowd Roses
Our founders
Gene and Irene Strowd
Fletcher Eugene “Gene” Strowd was born in Chatham County on May 15, 1909, and Annie “Irene” Harrison was born in Beaufort County on November 26, 1908. The couple married in 1932 and made their lifelong home in Chapel Hill.
Gene served his community with distinction—as a successful business leader, a public servant, and an engaged citizen. In the 1930s and 1940s, he worked at the Chapel Hill Post Office and later served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, he trained under local architect H.D. Carter and went on to design several buildings in downtown Chapel Hill and Carrboro. He partnered with Bernice Ward and Mabel Johnson to open the Johnson-Strowd-Ward Furniture Store on Franklin Street, where he worked until his retirement in 1979.
Both Gene and Irene were deeply involved in public service.
Gene was also very engaged in his community. He served as a Chapel Hill Alderman from 1955 to 1966, was a member of the Board of Directors of the North Carolina National Bank, and owned land in Chatham County.
Irene worked for many years in accounting at Blue Cross Blue Shield and was a dedicated civic leader in her own right.
Both Gene and Irene were long-time, devoted members of University United Methodist Church and active participants in both the Chapel Hill and American Rose Societies.
honoring legacy
Strowd Roses
In establishing the Strowd Roses foundation, Irene Strowd sought to honor the legacy of her husband Gene, by providing for the perpetual maintenance of the Gene Strowd Community Rose Garden, which he founded, and by supporting charitable projects and nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life for the residents of Chapel Hill and surrounding communities.
Others have followed in the footsteps of the Strowds and have made bequests to Strowd Roses to support our work in the community.
Inspired by the lives and values of Gene and Irene Strowd—and by the lasting impact of the foundation’s work in Chapel Hill—other generous individuals have chosen to leave enduring legacies in support of this mission. Among these cherished benefactors are Irene’s sister, Gladis Harrison Adams, who passed away in 2001, and Jean Anderson, an acclaimed cookbook author and editor, who passed away in 2023. Their legacies, like that of the Strowds, continue to enrich the community for generations to come.