Elizabeth Brothers

Elizabeth Brothers, an educator, philanthropist, and community leader in Winter Park for more than four decades, died Friday April 21, 2023 at the Mayflower Retirement Center. Elizabeth was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., the only child of Sydney Inman and Marguerite Taylor-Lindsay Brothers. She was a graduate of Vassar College and also attended Smith College’s Junior Year Abroad program and Middlebury College’s summer language school. After holding senior development positions at Mount Holyoke and Rollins Colleges, she became a planned giving consultant in Central Florida. For many years, Elizabeth arranged programs for the Financial Luncheon Group, an organization funded by several local foundations in order to increase financial literacy. She performed a similar function as vice president of the Florida Chapter of the American Association of Individual Investors. An active volunteer, she served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mayflower Retirement Center, president of two local Toastmasters Clubs, vice president of the Christopher D. Smithers Foundation, a trustee of the Bach Festival Society, a director of the Warren and August Hume Foundation, the Community Foundation of Central Florida, and the Central Florida Branch of the English-Speaking Union. Elizabeth also was the first woman to serve as moderator of the First Congregational Church of Winter Park, the first woman member of the University Club of Winter Park and also served as its first woman president. As the first woman in the country to head a major development program while at Mount Holyoke College, Elizabeth created Mastering Your Money, a financial planning program to meet the special needs of women. With support of the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation, she continued the program during her tenure at Rollins College. During her 43 years in Winter Park, Elizabeth was the recipient of many honors and awards, including the William Blackman Medal from Rollins, the Community Service Award from the University Club of Winter Park, the Legacy Award from the American Red Cross, the Cam Lusk and Demosthenes Awards from Toastmasters, and the Brakeley Award for creative Fund-Raising. She was named the Outstanding Professional Fund Raiser of the Year by the National Society of Fund Raising Executives and a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International for her work in philanthropy. Both Mount Holyoke and Rollins Colleges named her an honorary alumna. A celebration of Elizabeth’s life will be held at the Mayflower Retirement Center. In lieu of flowers, those who wish may contribute to the Endowment Fund at the Mayflower Retirement Center, 1620 Mayflower Court, Winter Park, FL 32792.

Elizabeth Brothers

April 30, 1928 - April 21, 2023