Barnwell's Lizzie Wright celebrates 100 years of wisdom, blessings, and family

Lizzie Etta Wright celebrated her 100th birthday on August 5 with a surprise party at the Barnwell State Park. Surrounded by those who love her, Wright sat upon a throne fit for a queen to greet countless guests.

For over a century, Wright has made it a priority to keep family close.

“I’ve been around family all my life, and they’ve been with me,” said Wright. “I am very, very proud of my family.”

With two daughters, 17 grandchildren, and countless great and great-great-grandchildren, Wright feels blessed to have such a tight knit family.

“I don’t know what I’ve done but that is just the way it is,” said Wright with a laugh.

Wright was raised in Furman, a town of just over 200 people south of Estill in Hampton County, with her parents and six of her siblings. Her father had a total of 15 children, and Wright was the youngest. He was an educator, a farmer, and a preacher who organized two churches in Hampton County.

Wright explained her father would never take a job that would interfere with the church or his family. This taught her to value a strong family and strong faith.

“What I learned from my mother and father…I tried to keep it and do the best that I can,” said Wright.

She and her family were all members of First Thankful Baptist Church in Estill where Wright still attends today.

Growing up, Wright and her siblings were surrounded by adults who cared for and respected her parents, and therefore cared for her. She remembers how they would always come to her side when needed.

“There is nothing we can do but go to one another, talk to them about it, and they give you the best of their knowledge on how to live in this world, and people are people, and there is only one God,” said Wright of some of the wisdom passed down to her.

She moved to Barnwell County in the 1960s after spending roughly eight years living in Brooklyn, New York with her husband Frank, and her two daughters, Vernetha and Deloris.

She and Frank were married for over 50 years before he passed away in 1993.

While in Brooklyn, Wright did domestic work for countless homes while her children were in school and at work.

The Wrights moved to Barnwell County to be closer to Frank’s sister and her family who relocated to Barnwell when the Savannah River Site uprooted the former town of Ellenton.

In Barnwell, Wright was employed at the National Fasteners Corporation, a company which manufactured zippers and other fasteners. According to a 1983 S.C. State Library Archive, this company was considered a major employer in 1983.

Wright can recall all the intricacies involved in making zippers down to the measurements.

In 2004, Wright was admitted into the hospital for an operation on her neck which resulted in a three-month-long coma. After coming out of the coma, she had to relearn to walk and talk.

“I was blessed to come out of it,” said Wright.

During this time, her family came together to support her throughout her discovery.

“I’ve been through a lot, but I have been blessed with children and grandchildren who are still around me,” said Wright. “They got me through it.”

Wright explains her family has always been the most important thing in her life – both blood related and through God.

“We all stay prayerfully together,” said Wright.

Members of the congregation at First Thankful Baptist Church and Morris Chapel Baptist Church in Barnwell all attended her 100th birthday party as well as her 97th birthday drive-by party. Her church family also attends reunions and other milestone events.

Wright knew about her 97th birthday celebrations but was shocked to find out the plans her family made for her 100th birthday.

“I knew about that one, but they slipped this 100th one over me,” said Wright. “They love to surprise me.”

Wright was not only surprised with a party and a new outfit in one of her favorite colors, but with family members from both near and far.

“Words couldn’t express,” said her daughter, Deloris. “We had family members who she hadn’t seen in years come.”

“They said they wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” said Deloris. Over 100 people attended her mother’s celebration.

Although blessed, Wright does not know what she has done to develop such a tight knit and supportive family. As the matriarch, she has lived her life loving everyone, treating people how she wishes to be treated, listening to the advice of her elders, and living “the life we sing about,” she said.

“You should treat people like you wish to be treated, it doesn’t matter who it was, they are God’s people,” said Wright.