WILMINGTON — Elizabeth Bronson Stewart Grenzebach, of Wilmington, NC passed away on April 14, 2025.
She was born on July 12, 1939, in Bluefield, VA to the late Margaret Bronson Stewart and Frederick Fitzgerald Stewart.
Elizabeth attended Mary Washington College and graduated from the Medical College of Virginia in 1961, with a bachelor of science in medical technology. Following graduation, Elizabeth worked in the clinical chemistry laboratory at MCV. She later worked with Dr. David Hume at MCV, assisting him with the launch of a revolutionary kidney transplant center and laboratory. She relocated to Lexington, KY, as a colleague of Dr. Myron Kauffman, Jr., where she helped establish a kidney transplant center and laboratory at the University of Kentucky. She also assisted Dr. Kauffman in establishing a kidney transplant center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Elizabeth spent several years collecting research across the country for Dr. Kauffman, to further the work of MCW’s kidney transplant laboratory. She ultimately settled in New Canaan, Connecticut, where she was the lab manager for Silver Hill Hospital for over 25 years.
Elizabeth was an active member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan, CT, serving on the altar guild for many years. She later joined St. James Episcopal Church in Wilmington, where she volunteered in the church office for several years and was a regular at the summer services at Mt. Lebanon Chapel near Wrightsville Beach.
Elizabeth is preceded in death by her husband of 16 years, James Austin Grenzebach.
She is survived by her sister, Mary Stewart McQueen (Raleigh, NC), and was predeceased by her sister, Catherine Stewart Carter and brother-in-law, John Marshall Carter. She is also survived by her stepdaughters, Jennifer Cornell (Todd; Richmond, VA), Cynthia Hart (Derrick; Stamford, CT), and Alice Jent (Chris; Mooresville, NC). She is blessed with loving nieces and nephews, whom she adored, Jane Jackson (Christopher), Jamie McQueen, Elizabeth White (Brandon), Stewart McQueen (Anna), Mary Anne Carter, and Maggie Carter. She also enjoyed her role as “Grandma E.B.” to eight grandchildren and “Aunt Betty” to nine grandnieces and grandnephews.
Elizabeth’s family wishes to thank David Cribb, Virginia Conley, and Paula Southworth for being her “Wilmington family” for the past 20+ years. We are also grateful for the care she received from Trinity Grove and Lower Cape Fear LifeCare.
Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. James Episcopal Church or a charity of your choice are welcome.
