It has been a vigil none of the Minters nor their friends surely expected to take, but suddenly, it was upon them.
For a week, they’ve been at the side of Elisabet’s hospital bed in their living room, until she passed away Tuesday morning, July 29.
Her parents, Wendell and Deloris Minter, and sister, Heather Minter, have been with her since she first started seeking treatment for stomach pains in March. She was in and out of hospitals for tests; it was eventually discovered that she had cancer of the abdominal wall.
You, too, may have known Elisabet “Lis” Minter, 34, in a way, whether you realized it or not. In fact, she may have made you cry, and again laugh, and again leap to your feet and dance, and yet and again sit and ponder life’s difficult issues. She had been acting in plays and singing in shows since high school – as far as I’ve known her and known of her – and very possibly even much sooner than that. She was known for her powerful and beautiful singing at her church Mt. Hermon Church of the Brethren, and in other settings.
Much of that entertainment was a family affair. Where you saw one Minter sister you saw them both. They were always together, on stage and off. They were the best of friends. For a few years, they sold Lula Rue clothing together.
Since Elisabet had been sick, her friends have been involved with fundraisers. Shana Cohen held a raffle offering two $50 gift certificates to Made With Love By Shana, to be given among donors. The donations were to be sent to Heather Minter through Venmo or Cash App at heatherm7185, to help with expenses.
Shana Wright also set up a GoFundMe, which by Tuesday evening had raised $5,455 to go to Elizabet’s mother.
The sisters’ theater friends have planned a fundraiser for Elisabet on Aug. 24 at Mt. Hermon Church of the Brethren in Bassett. It would include a live band, a music revue, improv, a bake sale, an auction and body art and face painting by Joyful Canvas Facepaint by Maci.
Elisabet was a 2008 graduate of Magna Vista High School, where she performed in the school theatre, including the Choral Department’s Madrigal Dinner.
She had a degree in biology from Radford University and a master’s degree in early childhood education, and most recently worked for Center for Early Success in Danville.
“She dedicated her life to children,” said family friend John Michael Ayers. “She loved them dearly.”
In 2014, the whole family were in TheatreWorks’ “Hairspray.” Elisabet, the quieter sister, portrayed the outgoing Tracy Turnblad, and Heather, the outgoing sister, portrayed Tracy’s reserved mother, Edna. Their father, Wendell, was in the ensemble, and their mother, Deloris, volunteered during the show’s run.
Elizabet has played nuns at least twice: in “Nunsense” with the PHCC Patriot Players in 2015 and “Doubt, A Parable,” with TheatreWorks Community Players in 2023.
In “Doubt,” you could feel her mental and emotional anguish as she tried to work through figuring out the right thing to do. From any of her singing, you would feel however she wanted you to – lifted up, or reminiscing sad, or excited and happy.
Her other theater credits included “Les Misérables,” TheatreWorks, 2013; “Julius Caesar,” TheatreWorks, 2014; “Legally Blonde,” Patriot Players, 2015; “The Big Five-OH!,” TheatreWorks, 2015; “The Wiz,” TheatreWorks, 2015; “Doo Wop, Motown and More,” TheatreWorks, 2017, and there were several others as well. In many – if not most – of those shows, she performed on stage along with Heather.
The Black Box and Walker Fine Arts Theatre weren’t her only stages.
“She performed year after year with the Hee-Haw performance at Mount Hermon, and she made so many laugh with her humor and comedic timing,” John said. “She was a true stage queen. She also volunteered so much with the American Red Cross Blood Drives at her church.”
And he mentioned a few random things about her: “She loved to travel to the beach, races and other road trips with family and friends. She loved beaver nuggets from Buc-ee’s and anything green.” The sisters also “would find the weirdest flavors or seasonal flavors of different items and taste test them on Facebook Live for lots of laughs and fun.”
The Minter family has been through the unimaginable in these past few months, and the community has held vigil along with them. Often you hear of victories against cancer, but in this case, the disease has shown itself to be the cruel, unforgiving, unrelenting beast that it is.
