Mrs. Elizabeth Cleland Peeples, widow of Dr. Harrison Lee Peeples, died Sunday, June 21, 2009 at the Medical University Hospital in Charleston, SC.
She was born May 3, 1918, in Hampton, the daughter of the late Lillian Phillips Cleland and Robert Lee Cleland. Mrs. Peeples graduated from Hampton High School where she was Valedictorian of her class, and graduated from Winthrop College with a B. S. in Music in 1939. She married Dr. Peeples on June 17, 1941.
She was the South Carolina Mother of the Year in 1980. She was a Founder of the Baptist College (now known as Charleston Southern University) where she served as Trustee for several years. She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by that institution.
Mrs. Peeples was a member of the Lawtonville Baptist Church in Estill, where she served for many years as church organist. She also served as President of the Women's Missionary Union, and Director of the Allendale-Hampton Young Women's Auxiliary. She founded and directed a Mission Vacation Bible School that was held at her home for many years. She founded the "Big A Club" for young children that instructed them in personal development-physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially.
She served as President of: The Estill Music and Study Club; Estill PTA; South Carolina Medical Association Auxiliary; Hampton County Hospital Auxiliary; Hampton County Medical Society Auxiliary; and the Hampton County Historical Society. She was a District Director of the South Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs, and a Delegate to the American Medical Association Auxiliary. She was a member of the Friendship Book Club and the American Legion Auxiliary. She served as Commander of the American Cancer Society, and was recognized for over 50 years of loyalty and dedication to that group.
She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Harrison Lee Peeples; her brother, Robert Lee Cleland of Savannah, GA; and her sisters: Mrs. Charles Bazemore Mikell of Savannah, GA, and Mrs. Edward Oswald Lightsey of Hampton.
Surviving are: Daughters, Elizabeth Anne Laffitte and her husband Henry Spann Lafitte of Allendale, Dr. Patricia Irene Westmoreland and her husband Dr. William Thomas Westmoreland of Greenville, and Mrs. Brenda Lee Batten and her husband Wise Henry Batten of Estill; her grandchildren: Henry Spann Laffitte, Jr. and his wife Elizabeth Fraser Laffitte of Columbia, Elizabeth Laffitte Hutton and her husband George Sargeant Hutton of Washington, DC, William Harrison Westmoreland and Thomas Marion Westmoreland, both of Greenville, Lee Elizabeth Batten of Charleston, and Wise Henry Batten, Jr. and his wife Elizabeth Melvin Batten of Bluffton; her great grandchildren: Alice Lowndes Laffitte and Lucille Morrison Laffitte of Columbia; and several nieces and nephews.
Services were held at the Lawtonville Baptist Church in Estill on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 10:00 AM. Burial was in the Lawtonville Cemetery following the church service.
Memorials may be made in her memory to: Lawtonville Baptist Church, PO Box 1057, Estill, SC 29918, the Lawtonville Cemetery Association, PO Box 577, Estill, SC 29918, the Lebanon Church Association, PO Box 52, Furman, SC 29921, or the Elizabeth and Harrison L. Peeples, MD Foundation, MUSC, 18 Bee Street MSC450, Charleston, SC 29425.
Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home of Hampton is in charge of the arrangements.