LAURA ELLINGTON AYERS
Laura Ellington Ayers died Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. She went peacefully in the company of loving family.
Born on June 27, 1932, at McLeod Infirmary in Florence, S.C., she was raised in Latta, S.C., by her parents, Zaida Bishop Ellington and Arthur Densmore Ellington. Her extended family included her mother’s sister, Alice Bishop Gaddy. Alice and Laura shared a beautifully reciprocal relationship for 80 years, drawing strength and love from each other from Laura’s birth until Alice’s death in 2012. Anyone who knew Laura knew Aunt Alice.
Laura was a person of endless energy. This was evident from the beginning. Zaida wrote in her baby book that Laura walked at 13 months, ran at 14 and climbed chairs, pianos, dressers and tables.
When Laura was three, her brother, Arthur Jr., joined the family. Her sister, Chris, arrived when she was six. By then, Laura and her group of friends had the run of Latta. As was the case for many children growing up in small towns in the 1930s, adult supervision was optional. As Laura later told her daughters, "Mama never knew where I was until I came home for dinner."
Laura went to school, and at first, her restlessness and loquaciousness got her into trouble. Then, fortunately, she learned to read and found a place to channel her boundless energy. From that day forward, Laura had her nose in a book.
After high school, Laura went to Winthrop College, where she thrived. It was a place where vocal, high-energy women were encouraged to speak their minds and take up space. Laura loved the sisterhood of dorm life. She joined clubs, made lifelong friends and traveled to Washington to meet Eleanor Roosevelt. In her senior year, she served as editor-in-chief of The Tatler, Winthrop’s yearbook and was named to Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities.
After graduating with a B.A. in English, Laura taught elementary school in Columbia before enrolling at the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. It was also in Columbia, in front of the iconic pink walls of the Caldwell Cafeteria, that Laura met E. Glenn Ayers Jr., a handsome, good-hearted fellow who would become her husband and life partner. Their 68-year marriage was filled with love, adventure and challenge. They navigated it all together, and by the end, they were overjoyed simply to be at each other’s side.
The Ayers family made their home in Sumter, where Glenn practiced as a clinical psychologist and Laura raised their two sons and two daughters. After her youngest child started school, Laura taught reading at Lemira Elementary and later served as the executive director of the Sumter Art Gallery, working alongside her close friend Martha Greenway to oversee the installation of the downtown mural, Winter Beach by artist Blue Sky.
A staunch advocate for public education, Laura became a member of the Sumter School District 17 Board of Trustees, where she served as chairwoman for 10 years. She and her fellow board members worked doggedly to pass a bond to replace the existing three-campus high school — which included the crumbling Haynsworth Street campus where students were known to open umbrellas in class on rainy days — with a modern, centralized Sumter High School built on the south side of town off McCrays Mill Road.
Laura’s dedication to learning never waned. In her 50s, she returned to the University of South Carolina to earn her Ph.D. in Elementary Education, later teaching in the Clarendon school district, where she was named a 1991 Teacher of the Year. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, an international society of women educators. In 1999, Winthrop University recognised her work in education and her service to others by awarding her the Mary Mildred Sullivan Alumni Award, the highest honour the Winthrop Alumni Association can bestow upon a graduate.
Laura was very much a part of Sumter life. She gave her time to many community organizations over the years, including the Sumter Art Association, the Sumter County Literacy Association and Habitat for Humanity. She was a founding board member and a long-time associate member of The Forum, and she was proud to support women pursuing higher education through her membership in the Philanthropic Educational Organization. For sheer fun, she had The Book Club, where for nearly 60 years, she enjoyed sharing her love of reading with her book-loving compatriots. Her spiritual home was Trinity United Methodist Church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher, Circle Leader and Lay Leader. It would be hard to overstate how much Trinity meant to Laura.
Laura was also an epic traveler. She and Glenn took turns deciding where to go. They went to England, Scotland, Europe, Finland, Norway, Russia, China, Costa Rica, Greece and all over the United States. On a trip to Antarctica, they survived a rough crossing of the Drake Passage and rode in Zodiac boats to observe orcas and penguins in the wild.
Laura was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Zaida, her husband, Glenn, her brother, Arthur D. Ellington Jr., her sister, Chris E. Mark and her maternal aunt, Alice. Survivors are her two sons, Ernest and Michael (Tracy) and her two daughters, Alice (Lou Cabrera) and Anne (Mark Fanatico), and five grandchildren, Laura Anne and Nicole Fanatico, Cristina and Kittrell Cabrera-Ayers and Eric Ayers. Also surviving is her brother-in-law Jerry Mark, sister-in-law, Vivienne Ellington, and numerous beloved nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorials may be sent to the PEO Scholarship Fund c/o of Joanie McLeod, 600 S. Hampton St. Pinewood, SC 28125; The Hourly Workers Gift Fund (HEGF) at Covenant Place, 2825 Carter Rd, Sumter, SC 29150; or Sumter Trinity United Methodist Church, 226 West Liberty, Sumter, SC 29150.
Burial will be private.
Online condolences may be sent to www.sumterfunerals.com.
Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements, (803) 775-9386.