Elizabeth Ingraham Doty
Activist, Retired Minister
Elizabeth “Beth” Ingraham Doty, activist and retired Presbyterian minister (PCUSA), 79, passed away Thursday, May 27, 2021, at CarePartners Hospice in Asheville, North Carolina.
Beth was born April 6, 1942, in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stanley and Helen Ingraham of Bristol, Connecticut. She graduated from the Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina in 1964 with a degree in anthropology and sociology.
Beth is survived by her two sons, Murphy (Amanda) and Christopher (Laurie); her seven grandchildren; her sister, Edith (Robert) Bruge; as well as extended family and many dear friends.
Throughout her life, Beth spent many hours volunteering or working for nonprofits that were dedicated to the principles of peace and justice, and open and accessible government. While living in Wilmington, Delaware, she worked for Common Cause of Delaware as an organizer before becoming its executive director.
An active member of the Presbyterian Church USA, she experienced a call to ministry in the mid-1980s and graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary with a master of divinity degree. Ordained in 1992 in New Castle Presbytery, she served four Presbyterian churches over the next 15 years in New Castle County and in Maryland.
Beth retired to Rehoboth Beach in 2007, where she lived with her partner, Merrijane Pierce, who passed away in 2016.
In Sussex County, Beth was active in Democratic politics at the state and county levels, and with All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Rehoboth Beach.
A service of celebration will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 23, at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Rehoboth Beach. Her remains will be interred at St. George’s Chapel in Harbeson immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following: West Rehoboth Community Land Trust; Meeting Ground in Elkton, Maryland; All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Rehoboth Beach; New Hope Presbyterian Church in Asheville, North Carolina; or Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry. ▼