Gertrude Elizabeth PHILLIPS^[1]

1921 - 2016  (95 years)

• Name	Gertrude Elizabeth PHILLIPS  [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
  Birth	21 Jan 1921	St. Charles, Lee County, South Carolina   [12]
  Gender	Female
  Education	she was a 1938 graduate of Edmunds High School, Sumter, South Carolina, and Montreat College where she majored in music  [4, 7]
  HIST	an active member of the Shepherd’s Center where she is the instructor of the Shepherd’s Center Singers class of Sumter, South Carolina 2261 Preot St. She grew up near Oswego, where she was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church. She started playing in church when she was 13 years old. After 92 years, still BFFs Cousins back together, naturally Juanita Tisdale and Gertrude Lyons, cousins and lifelong best friends, now have neighboring apartments at Sterling House. They recently reflected on their long friendship and experiences together and apart living through the Great Depression and World War II. BY IVY MOORE ivym@theitem.com Juanita Peebles Tisdale and Gertrude Phillips Lyons are not just cousins, they're best friends, and have been almost since birth. If they were on Facebook or texting, they'd be called BFFs - best friends forever. Just two months apart in age, the women, now 92, have shared family, friendship and even some clothes. Around their very first Thanksgiving in 1921, their parents took them to a photographer to have portraits made. "My mother did crochet, and she had made me a little white dress," Lyons said. "I guess they put the dress on me and had my picture made," Tisdale said, "and then they took it off me and put it on Gertrude for her picture." Lyons commented, "They're good pictures, too. I still have the same brown eyes." Tisdale's mother, Jeanette Peebles, and Lyons' grandmother, Maggie Smith, were sisters, and although the girls lived miles apart, their families, especially the two girls, took every opportunity to spend time together. INSEPARABLE Lyons was born "out in the country in Lee County," she said. "I'd go visit them a lot." Tisdale lived near Gable, "past where Mayewood school is now." The cousins attended different schools, Tisdale at Concord Elementary and Lyons at Riverside School in St. Charles. "But every opportunity I got, I'd go to Juanita's house and spend the night," Lyons said. Tisdale, noting that extended families seemed to be closer in those days, said, "We visited each other because we were relatives, but we got to be more like sisters than cousins." "I'd ride the school bus sometimes to go to her house," Lyons said, "and sometimes she'd ride the bus and come to my house." LOVE OF MUSIC Both women grew up loving music, although their tastes are different - Tisdale likes country music, while Lyons prefers jazz and big band - and both took piano lessons from teachers who would go to their homes. "Almost everybody had a family piano in those days," Tisdale said, "so when my children came along (she has four), I made sure they had a good teacher and that they had a piano." She took lessons for just a few months, she said, but played piano for her church, Lewis Chapel United Methodist, for eight years. Lyons' interest in music was greater, and she continued her studies through college and eventually became the organist for First Baptist Church, where she began playing in 1943, shortly after her marriage to Clarence Lyons. They had three children. "I play so much by ear," she said. "I learned to play a lot by listening to the radio." She also worked at Shaw Air Force Base during World War II. Tisdale married George Tisdale shortly after high school, raised a family and started working when her youngest child was older. She worked at the Capitol Department Store in Sumter for a time and was a secretary at Penney's in Columbia. "You know," she recalled, "Gertrude and I grew up during the Depression and were married to our husbands during the war. We lived through both." LOOKING BACK The cousins reflected on how things have changed since their formative years. No electronic games or cell phones for them. As longtime friends do, they often complete each other's thoughts. "We played paper dolls a lot," Lyons said, a memory that made her cousin chuckle. "We'd cut them out of catalogs," Tisdale said. She said she was often surprised by how much food people waste. "We had to use all the food we had or go hungry during the Depression," she said. "We didn't throw anything away." Lyons remembered how food, gasoline and other commodities were rationed. "We had ration coupons," she said, "so we had to be thrifty." Tisdale remembered that "We only got coupons for about three gallons of gas a week, so when we went on dates, we couldn't go too far, so we had to just drive a ways and park and talk." Occasionally, they'd ride into Sumter to listen to Snuffy Jenkins and Pappy Sherrill and their bluegrass band, the Hired Hands. On the other hand, she said, "$3 could buy a lot of groceries in those days, but we almost never had meat during the war. We grew a lot of vegetables." BACK TOGETHER AGAIN Lyons and Tisdale continued to see each other fairly often after their marriages, but when Tisdale and her family moved to Columbia where they lived for 30 years, their meetings were less frequent. Lyons continued to live in Sumter with her family. Tisdale returned to Sumter several years ago, and the cousins, both widowed, lived in the same neighborhood for a time. Tisdale moved to Sterling House seven years ago, and Lyons joined her in February. Since arriving at Sterling House, Tisdale has taught the facility's chef how to make her famous biscuits and red chicken stew, and Lyons is called upon often to play the piano. "Juanita talked me into moving here," Lyons said, "and I'm enjoying it. We have been catching up every day." They've picked up where they left off, Tisdale said, and they spend a lot of time reminiscing. "It just feels natural," she said. Posted in Panorama on Sunday, May 12, 2013 6:00 am. Gertrude Lyons Gertrude Phillips Lyons SUMTER - Gertrude Phillips Lyons, 95, widow of L. Clarence Lyons, Sr., died Wednesday, November 09, 2016, at NHC Healthcare. Born in Lee County, she was the daughter of the late Orville Monroe Phillips and the late Ada Belle Smith Martin. She was a graduate of Sumter High School and Montreat College. After graduation from Montreat, she taught first grade at Providence Elementary School in Sumter County and later served as a secretary at Shaw Air Force Base during World War II. Gertrude was a member of First Baptist Church for 73 years where she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, and served as Organist for 32 years. She was also the Organist for Alice Drive Baptist Church in Sumter for 12 years and taught piano lessons in her home. She served as Organist for funeral homes in Sumter for many years, and played for many weddings in the Sumter area. Music was the love of her life, and Gertrude enjoyed serving the Lord through music whenever she was needed. She will also be remembered as one with a gift of hospitality, and her caramel cakes were legendary! She was an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star - Beuclare Chapter No. 20, where she served as Worthy Grand Matron and Organist. She also served as Grand Organist for the South Carolina Grand Chapter of the Eastern Star. She is survived by: daughter, Nancy Lyons Smith of Greenville; son, Larry Clarence Lyons, Jr. and his wife, Lisa Burnett Lyons of Simpsonville; daughter, Mary Lyons Burress of Sumter; a sister, Mary C. Batson of Marion; granddaughter, Kimberly Smith Gill and husband, Dr. Brian Patrick Gill of Bloomington, IN; grandson, Rev. Clayton Thomas Smith and wife, Terrica Radford Smith of Matthews, NC; granddaughter, Jennifer Lyons McKinney and husband, Matthew McKinney of Lexington; granddaughter, Megan Lyons Haddan and husband, Zachary Haddan of Easley; grandson, Benjamin Kyle Burress of Charlotte, NC; and granddaughter, Emily Caroline Burress of Sumter. She also had seven great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. The family would like to give special thanks to the staff of NHC Healthcare of Sumter, where Gertrude receive loving care during the latter part of her life. A worship service celebrating the life of Gertrude Lyons will be held at 2 P.M. Saturday at First Baptist Church with the Rev. Dan Barber, the Rev. Charles Clanton, and her grandson, the Rev. Clay Smith officiating. Burial will be in the Sumter Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 P.M. Friday at Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and other times at the home of her daughter, 5 Fern Ct., Sumter. It is requested by the family that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to First Baptist Church, 107 East Liberty St., Sumter, SC 29150. Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium of Sumter is in charge of the arrangements. Funeral Home Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home and Crematorium 515 Miller Road Sumter, SC 29150 (803) 775-7500 Published in The State on Nov. 11, 2016  [1, 4, 5, 7, 10]
  Occupation	Shaw Air Force Base, plays the organ for First Baptist Church, Sumter, South Carolina for 25 years  [12]
  Religion	a member of First Baptist Church, Sumter, South Carolina, since 1943, having been active as a Sunday School teacher and choir member; she has been the organist for 28 years  [4, 7, 12]
  _UID	C5C51C5B3A094FE7927021026CE60E0C0B4C
  Death	9 Nov 2016	National Health Care, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [13]
  Burial	12 Nov 2016	Sumter Cemetery, 700 W. Oakland Avenue, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [1]
  	Elmore-Cannon-Stephens Funeral Home & Crematorium, Sumter, South Carolina
  Person ID	I71853	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	1 Aug 2020

  
  

  Father	Orville Monroe PHILLIPS   d. Bef 9 Nov 2016
  Mother	Ada Belle SMITH,   b. 24 Oct 1901/8, near St. Charles, Lee County, South Carolina d. 2 Apr 1994, Bethea Baptist Home, Darlington, South Carolina (Age 85 years)
  _UID	7586F69582E34F31835F68D99F39F196EDD4
  _UID	7586F69582E34F31835F68D99F39F196EDD4
  Family ID	F49292	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Larry Clarence LYONS, Sr.,   b. 28 May 1911, Woodruff, Spartanburg County, South Carolina d. 6 May 1995, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 83 years)
  Marriage	3 Sep 1942	Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [3, 14]
  _UID	504BA58A092342F0BB45A632EE0E8D52DB45
  _UID	504BA58A092342F0BB45A632EE0E8D52DB45
  Children	1. Living   2. Living   3. Living
  Family ID	F50000	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	10 Dec 2004

  
  

• Sources

  [S24347] Gertrude Phillips Lyons. [S998] Johnsie Smith Elmore, page 38. [S4176] . [S5537] . [S7539] Ada B. Martin. [S9087] Conly F. Smith. [S9954] Fascinating rhythms. [S9955] Immortalized. [S12383] Don’t forget Father’s Day; paperboy chronicles. [S19556] After 92 Years, Still BFF’s. [S27932] Burress-Ouzts. [S3916] Interview with Mary Lyons Burress. [S24332] . [S916] page 1344.