Lib Brice was a ‘dignified Southern lady’

Elizabeth McCorkle “Lib” Brice, a driving force in the beautification of York, died March 25. She was 85.

Brice, the wife of York’s longtime former mayor and former city attorney William M. Brice Jr., who died in 2012, cared about people and her community, said longtime friend Elizabeth Anne Inman.

“She cared about the town of York. She wanted to do special things,” Inman said. “She was very interested in the history of York and in making things better.”

Brice planted trees and flowers along Congress Street and in other areas of the city. She also lobbied for the establishment of a downtown park on property in front of the Greater York Chamber of Commerce.

“She was very interested in having a pretty place downtown, and maybe even a place where a group of people could play music,” Inman said.

York’s City Council supported the proposed downtown park, but it never moved forward because the property is owned by the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

Inman said Brice had been athletic all her life, playing basketball and golf, and she enjoyed arranging flowers. She enjoyed making social calls on people who were not able to get out of their homes.

“She cared about people,” Inman said. “Anyone that we felt like needed someone to come by and speak to them and maybe bring a loaf of bread or something. Many different people, not just church people, but people we knew in town.”

York Mayor Eddie Lee said Brice was “a dignified Southern lady” who was willing to stand up for her community.

Brice stood up for the city most recently in October, when she told members of the York County Council they needed to support the preservation of York’s downtown courthouse.

“She stood up for York on numerous occasions, too many to remember,” Lee said.

A memorial service was Friday at First Presbyterian Church of York, with a private burial at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Brice was the daughter of the late Hugh Jetton McCorkle and Lula Belle Calhoun McCorkle. She was a graduate of York High School, attended Queens College and was a graduate of the University of South Carolina. She was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, First Presbyterian Church of York and the city’s Historical Commission.

She is survived by her son, York city attorney Mac Brice, and his wife, Katie; six grandchildren, Olivia, Gabriella, Alex, Julia, Nick and Colby; her sister, Marjorie Claytor of Columbia; and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jim and Ann Brice of Flat Rock, N.C.

Memorials may be made to the Wayne T. Patrick Hospice House, P.O. Box 993, Rock Hill, SC 29731 or to Finishing for the Future, c/o First Presbyterian Church, 10 W Liberty St., York, SC 29745. Bratton Funeral Home in York is serving the Brice family.

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Lib Brice was a ‘dignified Southern lady’."