Elizabeth Banton

Elizabeth King Neill was born January 25, 1914 in Washington, DC to the union of James L. Neill and Jessie E. King. She grew up in Washington, DC, and graduated from the historic Paul Laurence Dunbar High School there.

She attended Wellesley College, from which she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1934. Earlier this year, she was recognized as Wellesley’s oldest surviving alumna. She received her master’s degree in Latin from the University of Chicago and completed work toward her Ph.D. at The Catholic University of America and the University of Michigan. Her first job after completing her masters was teaching French at Southern University in Louisiana.

Elizabeth, known to her friends as Ekie for her initials of E.K., returned to Washington, where she taught Latin in the public-school system. There she met Clarence Wilmer Banton, a chemical engineering graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. They married in March of 1944, prior to his departure for service as a Tuskegee Airman.

Born to this union were sons; Clarence Neill Banton and James Wilmer Banton. The family moved to Detroit where Mr. Banton worked at the US Army Tank Arsenal. For more than 50 years, Elizabeth lived on Atkinson in Detroit. She taught Latin and English at Highland Park High School at its junior college. She is admired and fondly remembered by many former students.

In her retirement, she was a volunteer at the Detroit Institute of Arts from 1974-1993, serving as a docent and helping with volunteer services. She was a member of The Northeasterners, the Detroit Study Club, The Women’s Historical Club, and The Detroit Classical Association.

Elizabeth (known as Betty in later years) and her sons moved to Grosse Pointe Park in 2005. James, a talented artist, died in 2009. In good health and with a sharp mind, Elizabeth lived at home until after her 101st birthday, when she moved to Sunrise of Grosse Pointe Woods. She met new friends and enjoyed the activities there until the recent decline in her health.

Elizabeth had a lifelong love of art and music; a baby grand piano was one of the first major purchases she made. Trained in classical music, she sat at the piano at age 100 and played music she had not seen in years. She loved learning and keeping up with current events. She met and greatly admired Eleanor Roosevelt and followed government into the age of President Obama.

She is survived by her son Clarence Neill Banton, cousin Gail Sharma and her sons Salig and Ashok, other relatives, and many friends and admirers.