Favorite Verse: Isaiah 41:10, 13
Favorite Hymn: “Great is Thy Faithfulness”
Talents: Playing the piano, teaching Sunday School, finding ways to brighten others’ lives (she’s working hard to “not outlive her usefulness”)
Family Status: Widowed after 54 years of marriage to husband, Charles Jackson Granade; three children, Jack Granade, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Swindle; seven grandchildren; seven great- grandchildren
Over the past eight years, I have been privileged to write dozens of articles as a correspondent for The Alabama Baptist. All of them have been interesting to me and special in their own way. However, this article is the most special of all.
My grandmother, Elizabeth Donald Granade, has been an inspiration to me and she has been a stalwart Alabama Baptist. A dedicated reader of this paper, Elizabeth, 97, reads each issue from cover to cover not just because of my articles, but because of her deep interest in Baptist work in Alabama.
Elizabeth is one of the most amazing women I know. She’s someone who has used her many talents to truly make the world a better place, filling it with optimism, knowledge and faith.
Elizabeth’s life was impressive from a young age, earning not just a bachelor’s degree — a notable feat for a woman in the 1930s — but also a master of religious education degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1940, where she was honored as the top student in her religious education program. The following year she was on the Baptist ministries staff of Mary Hardin Baylor College in Belton, Texas.
That master’s degree served her well through the years as she went on to become the wife of Charles, a Southern Baptist pastor. Together the two served for five decades in churches across the state. Most recently Elizabeth and Charles served at Grove Hill Baptist Church where Elizabeth is still a member.
Education continued to be a theme in Elizabeth’s life and she spent years teaching Sunday School classes as well as participating in Woman’s Missionary Union and other church groups and organizations. She also spent several years as a teacher in the public school system in Clarke County.
Fiercely proud of her family, Elizabeth’s children largely have her to thank for their strong faith and unyielding work ethic.
Since 2008, Elizabeth has called St. Martins In The Pines Assisted Living in Birmingham home, where she’s brightened the lives of fellow residents and staff alike with her contagious optimism.
Grandma, thank you for being one of my biggest fans. I hope you know I’m one of yours and always will be. Thank you for all the love and encouragement you bring to our family. This world is a brighter place because of you.
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