Elizabeth Turner Pritchard Byrd, 100, died October 21, 2014 in Greenwood at Sterling House Assisted Living. Born August 10, 1914 in Augusta, GA, she was the daughter of the late Jessie Turner Pritchard and Paul Baker Pritchard, an early automobile mechanic and inventor. She graduated from Furman University in 1935 with a BA degree in French and began her career as an educator at Edgefield High School, where she taught choral music and Western civilization. In 1942 she moved to Greenwood with her husband, the late William Arthur Byrd and began her long life of service to the community with her enthusiasm for life, her talents as an educator and her deep religious faith. She worked as a caseworker for the American Red Cross while her husband served in the US Army during World War II. She resumed her career as a first grade teacher at Leslie School where she retired in 1978 after sharing her love of reading and the world of nature with over 1, 400 young people who passed through her classrooms. For over 70 years she served the First Baptist Church as a member of the choir and Sunday School teacher. Her last request was that her funeral service "should make others want to accept Christ as their Savior because without him we cannot get through the days." She would say, "Life is so simple, It's love." She played a vital role in the life of the Greenwood Community. She worked to keep Greenwood beautiful as a civic development of the Violet Garden Club of which she was a charter member. She worked on the citizens campaign to keep Lander College in the city. She was a founding member of the historical society that established the Greenwood Historical Museum.She was a regent of the Mt. Arial Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a member of Daughters of the Confederacy, and the American Legion Auxiliary. Elizabeth Byrd was predeceased by her husband in 1974 and her daughter Jane Elizabeth (Betty) Griffith Wilson in 2000. She is survived by daughters, Margaret (Thomas) Rasmussen, Gainesville GA; Mary Ann (Robert Amos) Johnson, Richmond VA; and Catherine Byrd, Greenwood; granddaughters Jessica (Adam) Adams Stone, St. Thomas VI; Elizabeth Maya (Dennis) Adams-Smith, Lambertville NJ; grandsons Robert (Ashlei) Johnson, Alexandria VA; William (Yolanda) Johnson, Urica CA; Daniel Johnson, Richmond VA; foster son Winifred (Susan) Chewing, Richmond VA; great-granddaughters Tallulah Devi Stone and Mirabel Byrd Adams-Smith, Sophia Johnson and Rayna Elizabeth Johnson ; beloved nieces and nephews; longtime friend and companion, Carolyn Carter. Graveside at Greenwood Memorial Gardens. Blyth Funeral Home.