Obituary of Elizabeth Gibson Rowell

ELIZABETH GIBSON ROWELL

Elizabeth Gibson Rowell passed away at the age of ninety - five on April 28, 2022 at her home in Hampton with family by her side. Known to family and friends as Libby or Lib, she was the widow of Ellis Ray Rowell and the daughter of Ezbert Jefferson Gibson, Sr. and Estelle Smoak Gibson. Libby was predeceased by her daughter, Belinda Rayellen Rowell and fourteen brothers and sisters. Survivors include Susan Elizabeth Rowell and her husband Billy Armstrong, Steven Brent Rowell and his wife Rochelle Routman, Carmen Bonte Horton and her husband Bob, grandson Andy Horton, granddaughters Jennifer Mehram and Katherine Horton, great-granddaughter Sabine Bonte Whitley, brother Lyn Gibson and wife Norma, and step-grandchildren Cary Armstrong Dennis, Beth Armstrong Shikano, and Erin Armstrong Parker, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. Adeline and Tony Gross and Freddie and Cathy Mixon were her neighbors for over fifty years whom she considered to be part of her family. She was especially close to her late sister Janice Burkett of Colorado Springs.

Elizabeth lived a life of quiet and gracious dignity. She was raised in the Erhardt and Denmark areas of Bamberg County and was a 1946 graduate of Denmark High School. She was the ninth of sixteen children, including two sets of twins and one set of triplets. She had to leave school for a year at the age of ten to help her mother with the triplets. She and her husband Ellis moved to Hampton from Orangeburg in 1965. Prior to her marriage, she worked for Southern Bell in Denmark’s regional exchange in the historic AT&T Building.

A member of Hampton First Baptist Church for over fifty years, she volunteered with its Clothes Closet for many years. She worked part-time for the Town of Hampton Museum for a number of years. She had a special place in her heart for animals and would never turn one away. She always saw the best in people and lived a life free of criticism of others.

A graveside internment service will be held on Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 2:00 pm at Willow Swamp Baptist Church in Norway, South Carolina, where she will be laid to rest beside her husband. The family will receive visitors in the church social hall after the services. Memorials are suggested to the Hampton County Animal Shelter for those who wish to make a donation.