With hearts filled with gratitude for a life so beautifully lived, we remember Elizabeth Styron Salter Ritchey, 81, of Davis, North Carolina, who passed away on Friday, March 20, 2026, at Crystal Bluffs Rehabilitation & Health Care Center in Morehead City.

A funeral service to honor Elizabeth's life will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, March 23rd, at First Baptist Church of Davis, officiated by Rev. Chuck Houston. Interment will follow at Oscar Davis Cemetery. The family will receive friends the evening prior from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Sunday, March 22nd, at First Baptist Church of Davis.

She was born on May 10, 1944, to Alice and Virgil Styron, into one of the foremost commercial fishing families of Core Sound. From the very beginning, she was woven into something larger than herself: a family that loved her deeply, a community made better by her presence, a church that would remain her lifelong anchor, and a heritage that was in her blood and would shape her spirit for all of her days. Rooted in the steadfast love of her parents and the close companionship of her beloved siblings, James, Lorraine, and Dickie, she came of age in a time when shrimping was king, when Core Sound glittered like a city on summer nights from the lights of the local fleet, when fish houses were still the center of commerce and community churches were still the beating heart of village life. Davis Shore was the world that formed her, and its lessons would remain in her soul.

Elizabeth graduated from Smyrna High School and had made plans to continue her education at Mount Olive College. Yet, as life often does, it gently redirected her path toward what would become not just a career, but a calling. She entered the world of banking, first serving at Wachovia in Sea Level, before playing an instrumental role in opening the Harkers Island branch, where she would faithfully serve as Branch Manager for 25 years. In time, she oversaw the transition from Wachovia to Wells Fargo, and when she retired, she held the title of Branch Manager over both the Harkers Island and Beaufort branches, leading with a standard of excellence that earned awards and deep respect across the region.

In that role, Elizabeth became far more than a banker. She became a trusted guide, a steady presence, and a genuine source of encouragement to countless families and business owners throughout eastern Carteret County. Down East people were her people, and seeing them thrive and advance was one of the great joys of her professional life. From a family building their first home, to a commercial fisherman investing in a new boat, to an entrepreneur opening their doors for the first time, she brought to each of them not only her sharp intellect and business acumen, but her sincere care and her genuine delight in seeing her people thrive.

On September 25, 1966, she married her dearly beloved husband, Lester Salter, and in him she found not only the love of her life, but her truest home. Together they built a life rooted in love, hard work, and devotion, making their home on Davis Shore, the village where her Styron roots ran deep. To that union were born two sons, Lester Allen Salter and Rodney Wayne Salter, who became the joy and the center of her world. Whatever her career demanded of her time and talent, and it demanded much, her heart was always at home with her beloved Lester and her two boys. She was devoted to that family with everything she had. She loved Lester with a depth and constancy that those around them could see and feel, and she poured herself into those boys with a mother's fierce and abiding love. Watching them grow into strong, capable,and good men was not just her greatest joy. It was her greatest accomplishment, and she would have told you so herself.

In time, that joy only deepened with the arrival of her three granddaughters, Emileigh Grace Salter, Susanna Gale Salter, and Victoria Rose Salter, whom she treasured beyond measure. She was known lovingly to family and close friends as Ebbie. But the sweetest title she ever carried was Nan-gan, the name Emileigh first gave her that all three girls would come to embrace as their own.

For all that she achieved in the professional world, Elizabeth never lost sight of who she was or where she came from. Even as she rose to positions of leadership and recognition in the banking world, she never left behind the life that formed her. She could captivate a boardroom and lead with award-winning excellence, yet still be found at the fish house heading shrimp, watching the boats come in with their catches. And few things brought her more joy than watching her sons work the water the way their people always have. A good haul of mullets, a strong season of peeler crabbing - these were not small things to Elizabeth. They were evidence that the waterman's heritage of her family and her ancestors was living on in her boys, and that meant everything to her.

She understood this heritage not as nostalgia, but as something worth protecting and fighting for. She stood alongside her people in that fight, lending her voice and her time to commercial fishing auxiliaries that advocated for the rights and livelihoods of Down East watermen. And she poured that same love for Down East and its way of life into her involvement with the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, that cherished effort to preserve and celebrate the culture, the craftsmanship, and the memory of the men and women who built their lives on these waters. It was, for Elizabeth, deeply personal. These were her people. This was her story. And she was determined that it would not be forgotten.

In 1998, her beloved Lester passed in a tragic event, forever changing the course of her life. Yet even in the face of that profound loss, Elizabeth demonstrated the strength, resolve, and fortitude that would come to define her. Someone once said that one's proof is in their perseverance, and in Ebbie's case, that proof was solid. She didn't simply press on. She clung to her faith in the midst of it all, leaned into her belief, and made up her mind that she would not be defeated or left bitter. She chose forgiveness. She chose grace. She met each challenge with strength, each trial with courage, and each heartache with prayer and release.

She was a lifelong member of Davis First Baptist Church, serving faithfully in many roles, including the choir. And as the waves of life's trials came, she drew ever closer to her Savior and poured herself more deeply into her beloved church family, finding in that community the strength, the purpose, and the peace that carried her forward.

In the early 2000s, when approached by her very dear friend, Joey Styron, with a vision for a Community Christmas celebration, Elizabeth was immediately all in. With a genuine love for their community and the Christmas season, Elizabeth and Joey formed a partnership that would span many years. Elizabeth lent her leadership and vision to the Davis Community Christmas, working alongside other dedicated souls to establish a cherished annual tradition that brought the whole community together. Musical celebrations, a community tree lighting, Mr. and Mrs. Claus arriving by boat to greet the village children, and even an English double-decker bus carrying visitors through the decorated streets of her beloved Davis. It was, like so much of what she did, a reflection of her desire to create joy, connection, and lasting memories for the people she loved.

In the years following her retirement, Elizabeth found love again and married her dear husband, Jim Ritchey. In Jim she found a gentle companionship that warmed her later years and brought her a renewed sense of joy and belonging. They were a comfort and a delight to one another, and those who knew them were grateful for the happiness they shared. That companionship proved to be a special gift and a deep comfort as Elizabeth walked through one of the heaviest seasons of her life, the heartbreaking loss of her eldest son, Lester Allen, in 2018. No loss cuts deeper than that of a child, and Elizabeth felt it with her whole heart. Yet even there, her faith held her. Sadly, Jim passed the following year in 2019, and once again she was called to stand in the face of grief, sustained by her unshakeable belief in the grace of God and the faithful love of those who refused to let her stand alone.

That she endured so much pain with dignity, with faith, and without bitterness was a testament to the remarkable woman she was. Life asked much of Elizabeth Styron Salter Ritchey. And every single time, she rose to meet it.

In every sphere of her life, family, business, church, and community, Elizabeth was a leader. The void left by her passing is a profound one. Yet the legacy she leaves calls each of us higher: to reach our full potential, to care more deeply, to lead with compassion, to face each storm with faith and resilience, and to always let love lead the way.

Through her final years, as Elizabeth faced considerable health challenges, the steadfast devotion, presence, and tireless care provided by her beloved brother Dickie and his wife Bev was nothing short of extraordinary. They showed up for her completely, consistently, and without reservation. It was a beautiful thing to witness. Elizabeth was loved well, and she was never alone.

She is survived by her loving son, Rodney Wayne Salter of Davis; her cherished granddaughters, Emileigh Grace Salter, Susanna Gale Salter, and Victoria Rose Salter; her sister, Lorraine Alligood and husband Leton of Skidaway Island, Georgia; her brother, Richard "Dickie" Styron and wife Bev of Davis; and a sea of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and loved ones who will carry her memory forward, drawing from the example of strength she embodied, the standard of excellence she set, and the heart of love she poured out so freely.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Alice and Virgil Styron; her brother and sister-in-law, James and Nadine Styron; her husband, Lester Salter; her son, Lester Allen Salter; her husband, Jim Ritchey; and her dear friend, Gerry Smith.

Her life stands as a testament to strength, faith, and enduring love, and her memory will remain a blessing to all who were fortunate enough to know her.

The family would like to express their deep gratitude to the wonderful, caring professionals at Crystal Bluffs Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, who provided Elizabeth with such warm and heartfelt care over the last five and a half years.

As an expression of sympathy, flowers are welcome or memorial contributions may be made to First Baptist Church of Davis, P.O. Box 146, Davis, NC 28524 or Davis Community Christmas, 548 Highway 70, Davis 28524.

Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net.

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home & Crematory in Morehead City, NC.