Elizabeth “Lizzie” Avera Winston Broadfoot 1895-1991

When Elizabeth “Lizzie” Avera Winston was born on August 29, 1895, in Raleigh, North Carolina, her father, Moses, was 41, and her mother, Mary, was 31. She spent her early years in Selma, NC. At age 10, her father named The Lizzie Cotton Mill in Raleigh, NC in her honor. Unfortunately, at age 16, Lizzie’s older sister, Ethel Winston Speight (age 24), passed away due to complications of childbirth. Lizzie attended Peace Institute in Raleigh, NC in 1911 and 1912. Mary Avera Winston (age 51), Lizzie’s mother, died of dysentery, on June 21, 1915 when Lizzie was 19 years old.

Much to the surprise of their friends, Lizzie and William Gillies Broadfoot were engaged at a special luncheon on September 10, 1917. She married William Gillies Broadfoot on October 11, 1917, in Selma, North Carolina.

On August 17th, 1918 , in Selma, NC, at the age of 22, Lizzie gave birth to William Gillies Broadfoot, Jr. Shortly afterwards, the young family moved to Wilmington, NC.

In 1919, together with her husband, Lizzie and William incorporated Broadfoot Iron Works located in downtown Wilmington.

Lizzie’s father, Moses Cameron Winston, was remarried to Norma Page in Guilford, North Carolina, on September 24, 1919, when he was 65 years old. It is told, Lizzie was very upset about the union and refused to speak with her father afterwards.

Second son, Winston, was born in Wilmington on February 20th, 1920.

On August 29, 1921, Lizzie’s brother Randall Avera Winston died unexpectedly at the age of 29 from malaria.

During this time, the Broadfoot family moved to Atlanta, Georgia due to the fact William had many businesses he was running in the deeper south. Lizzie and William welcomed their third son, Shepard Bryan Broadfoot, on December 24, 1924 in Atlanta.

Lizzie’s father, Moses Cameron Winston passed away on August 13, 1929 in Warrenton, NC.

Around 1930. the Broadfoot family moved back to Wilmington and Lizzie remained in Wilmington for the rest of her life.

Lizzie took her role as a societal matriarch very seriously. She became extremely active in the Colonial Dames and and over her 62 years of service she served in a variety of positions: Registrar, Vice-President, and 12 year chair of the Garden at the Burgwin-Wright House. She was placed on the Roll of Honor with the National Colonial Dames Society.

Lizzie took writing correspondence to a whole new level. She wrote thousands of letters to friends and family and most importantly to service members serving in the war. In fact, Lizzie made it her personal responsibility to write as many of “her boys” during World War II. Maybe it was out of patriotism or because her three sons were serving, but Lizzie was a faithful servant to our military and kept morale high. She also hosted many soldiers in her home when they were on leave. She provided them a home cooked meal and good entertainment. In return, the men showed their appreciation in many floral deliveries and countless letters.

One special soldier by the name of John Huehnergarth, was a regular on LIzzie’s writing circuit and also visited the Broadfoot’s while on R&R. He documented his visits with some playful drawings. With encouragement from Lizzie, Huehnergarth did pursue art and became a highly successful illustrator, gracing the covers of magazines such as Newsweek, Saturday Evening Post, Sports Illustrated, and Time to name just a few. I was able to track him down in Princeton, NJ and sent him copies of all the correspondence between he and Lizzie. He was very appreciative of the memories and sent a nice letter and article back.

In talking to many of Lizzie’s grandchildren, it seems Dih, as she was fondly called, was a stickler for the rules and provided a lot of tough love and didn’t overly care for young children. As the grandkids got older she became the person to whom they could turn to talk about anything or who helped them when needed.

Lizzie’s granddaughter, Mary Ivie, remembers, “Dih was the go to person to talk to about anything and everything. I spent many an hour in her living room sitting across from her in front of the fireplace sharing whatever was on my mind. She listened and listened. She was a devout Christian. You could always find her in church on Sunday morning and at the weekly services in Lent. She was the one who worked hard to restore the old cemetery at St. James. She also loved the Colonial Dames and she was the one who began the work to restore the gardens at the Burgwin-Wright House, the Headquarters for Colonial Dames. She was so strong and so independent and such a no nonsense person. One time she fell when leaving our house on Wayne Drive and refused any help from me. She drove herself home and later to the doctor. She loved her family especially her wild and crazy 12 grandchildren as noted when she started the cousin parties after we were all “adults” living on our own and starting our own families. She was a modern grandmother and so up on everything current. I remember when she bought this cool sports car (I think it was a convertible). She was the coolest grandmother. Everyone loved her, including my friends who also called her Dih!”

She died on December 22, 1991, in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the age of 96, and was buried locally in Oakdale Cemetery.