Lt. Col. Elizabeth A. Peets, 87, Women Army Corps Lieutenant Colonel

Born May 18, 1922, in Lorain, OH. She was a grand-daughter of the late Captain Julian “Dick” Porter who achieved a reputation as a daring lake skipper in the days when sailing vessels ruled the lakes. His ship, “The Three Brothers” was one of the last and most famous vessels on the Great Lakes.

The Porter family were pioneer members of the city of Lorain and of St. Mary’s Church. Libby graduated from Saint Mary’s Academy in 1939. After high school she joined the Navy for two years. She attended the University of Miami where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Music. She was recalled by the Navy after graduation and transferred to the Women Army Corps where she achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She served in many locations in the United States and abroad, including Germany and at West Point Academy. After her discharge from the Army in 1969, she worked for the government at the Pentagon. She retired from the government in 1984. In 1991, she moved from Alexandra, Virginia to Sebastian, FL.

Libby had a beautiful soprano singing voice, often performing at weddings and funerals. Libby was a member of Saint Sebastian Catholic Church, Sebastian, FL. She was a long time member of the L.C.B.A.

She leaves behind her sister Jane Irene Peets Vecchio of Avon, her niece Mary Jane Barile of Euclid, great niece and nephew Jennifer and Thomas Barile both of Euclid, cousin, Ann Ginnane, of Lorain, and other cousins from the Brown and Reidy families, descendants of Captain Porter.

She was preceded in death by her parents Thomas A. and Juliet F. “Frank” (nee Porter) Peets, sisters Mary Margaret Michaud who died last year and Juliet F. Peets who died in 2006.

Rev. Father Daniel O. Divis, pastor, will celebrate a mass in her memory in Saint Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, Reid Avenue and 8th Street, Lorain, Saturday, Aug. 1, at 10 a.m. Her burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Lorain, where the Disabled American Veterans, Louis Paul Proy Chapter 20, Lorain will conduct military honors.