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Obituary

Devoted to family, she shared tales of ventures

ELIZABETH S. AYE: 1919-2005. The longtime Beach Park resident was orphaned as a child, traveled cross-country and learned to fly.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published January 14, 2005

BEACH PARK - Even as a child and young woman, Elizabeth Aye showed the inner strength, enthusiasm and sense of adventure that would mark her entire life.

Mrs. Aye's life wasn't without hardship. Both her parents died by the time she was 12, and she outlived her husband and two of her own sons. But even when her health began to decline last year, she remained an active, independent and social woman.

She died Saturday (Jan. 8, 2005) of congestive heart failure at age 85.

Mrs. Aye was born Elizabeth Schuchardt in Chicago. Her mother died when she was 9, and her father died three years later.

"She adored her father," said Barbara McStowe, Mrs. Aye's daughter. "But from all indications, she seemed to adapt to it fairly well. She was always very resilient."

Despite being orphaned, the girl whom everyone called Betty had an otherwise normal upbringing, raised by a beloved aunt with help from her brother, Bill, who was 10 years older.

As a young woman, she showed an independent spirit that was uncommon among her peers. She and three friends piled into a car and took an extended cross-country trip, something most young ladies wouldn't have done. It was a highlight of her early life.

"She would always tell us stories about the places she saw," her daughter said. "She would talk about how beautiful these places were, but mostly she would talk about the people she met. She was very social and very adventurous."

Also as a young woman, she took flying lessons and got her pilot's license.

Her brother Bill later suggested she enroll at Northwestern University. She never had an especially keen interest in academics, but a college class would be a great place to meet boys, he said. She took a chemistry course, figuring the male-female ratio would be in her favor.

She never graduated, but her college career was a resounding success. In chemistry class, she met a young man named Ralph Aye. They married just before he went off to World War II.

"She kept all the letters, both the ones he wrote to her and the ones she wrote to him," McStowe said. "They're just so beautifully written. She treasured them, and now I have them to pass on to my own daughters."

After the war, her husband graduated from medical school and served an internship and residency in Illinois. In 1957, he moved with his wife and family to Tampa, where he had an opportunity to open his own radiology practice. He eventually became the head of the radiology department at Tampa General Hospital.

The couple built a home in Beach Park, where Mrs. Aye lived for the rest of her life.

She approached her family life with the same enthusiasm and energy she had earlier in life. She had settled down but never felt that she had settled for less, her daughter said.

"Her family came first," McStowe said. "But I don't think it was a sacrifice at all. She was always very social and she really enjoyed life."

Although McStowe characterized her mother as a private woman, she said Mrs. Aye was also involved in community activities across Tampa. She was a member of the Beach Park Civic Association, Community Hospital Auxiliary, LifePath Hospice and Berkeley Preparatory School. She was also active in the PTA.

"She loved Tampa," her daughter said. "It was a big adjustment for her, coming here from Chicago. She said it took her five years to adjust to it, but she ended up loving it. You couldn't have gotten her away from here."

Besides her daughter, Mrs. Aye is survived by one son, Walter, and three granddaughters.

[Last modified January 13, 2005, 10:13:09]