Elizabeth Franklin Orser

Elizabeth (Liz) Franklin Orser, 104, died peacefully at her home on June 10, 2025. Born on October 2, 1920 in Jefferson City, Tennessee, to Clarence and Nancy (Hallums) Franklin, she lived a long and inspiring life. She and her three siblings (Nancy, Ben, and Martha) were raised primarily in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Graduating from Milligan College, she later joined the Marines and served as a communications officer during World War II. After the war, she attended Yale University, graduating with a Master’s Degree in Nursing, and became a flight nurse during the Korean War, where she met Leon S. Orser, Jr., a pilot in the Air Force. Married in 1953, she left the service to raise their daughters, moving all over the country and Germany, until settling in Summerville in 1974. Early in their residency in King's Grant on the Ashley, both Liz and her husband Lee were active in the community's affairs and social life. Lee served on the KGHOA Board as Secretary and Liz joined the King's Grant Garden Club where she was active in beautification of the neighborhood, raising funds for Garden Club projects, and participating in the neighborhood social activities. In honor of her 100th birthday, the Garden Club had an arbor with a bench built in her honor. It overlooks the King's Grant Park. After her husband’s death in 1977 and with her daughters grown and gone, Liz led a fiercely independent life. A dedicated political activist, she volunteered tirelessly for numerous candidates for more than sixty years, receiving a Woman of Achievement Award in 2003 from the SC House of Representatives’ Republican Women’s Caucus. In her younger years, she loved playing tennis, traveling to see the world and her family, and attending the Charleston Symphony and Designer Showcase Homes. Protecting the environment was important to her and she participated in river and beach sweeps and supported the Coastal Conservation League and Audubon Society. Other groups she was active in include the Air Force Nurses Association, the Summerville Preservation Society, and Military Offices Association of America. She was generous with both her time and her money. Besides her daughters, Judy Orser and Joyce Mann, Liz is survived by three grandchildren, Calvin Mann (Jennie), Lauren Markley (Ben), and Christopher McDonald (Olivia), ten great-grandchildren, two nieces, one nephew and their families, and her cousin, Tommy Hallums. A visitation will be held at the James A. Dyal Funeral Home, 303 S. Main Street, Summerville, South Carolina on June 21, 2025 from 1-3 p.m. She will be buried next to her husband at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C., at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Roper St. Francis Foundation, 100 Calhoun Street, Suite 210, Charleston, SC 29401 (or go to https://www.rsfh.com/foundation/giving/) or to the Summerville Preservation Society, PO Box 511, Summerville, SC, 29484.

Elizabeth Franklin Orser

October 2, 1920 - June 10, 2025