Rev. Dr. Lillie Elizabeth Lawton Travis, of Effingham, Georgia, went home to be with our Savior on Sunday, November 7, 2021 at 2pm. After a beautiful life full of faith, family, and thanksgiving, the Lord released her of all pain and suffering.

Born on May 28, 1937,  to her hard working parents, the late Ernest Asby Lawton Sr. and Julia Easley, she was the seventh of ten children. Life on the farm left her with rich experiences and stories that we still speak of and hold dear today.

Salem Baptist Missionary Church of Washington, DC licensed Dr. Travis to preach the Gospel. The charge given to her in that defining moment was followed by a litany of distinguished ministries. This includes her tenures as Baptist Chaplain at Howard University and Associate Pastor at Salem Baptist Missionary Church in Washington, DC; Assistant Pastor at the Martin Luther King Jr. Christian Church in Reston, VA; and founder/pastor/director of Living Learning Truth Ministries, which allowed her to offer her Christian ministries to the community.

Dr. Travis holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cheyney State College, a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity College, a Master of Divinity degree from Howard University and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Union Theological Seminary. To her credit, she also completed post-graduate studies at Catholic University and George Washington University. She was a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.  Dr. Lillie Travis was also one of the featured authors in volume 4, of the book "Those Preaching Women", edited by Ella Pearson Mitchell and Jacqueline B. Glass.

Dr. Lillie took North Carolina by storm,  teaching at the Shaw University Divinity School's satellite campus at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston- Salem State University and touched countless others through her gift of teaching. Dr. Travis joined Mount Zion, was an active Pulpit Associate, and member of the Sarah Missionary Group.

Dr. Lillie Elizabeth Travis reunited in Heaven with her beloved husband, Rev. Herbert N. Travis; her parents, Ernest Asby Lawton Sr. and Julia Easley Lawton; her siblings, Gladys, Elias, Floyd, Elijah, Anna, Charlie, and Ernest.

She is survived by her sister Viola "Viella" Lawton Durham; a host of nieces and nephews, great and great, great nieces and nephews, cousins, friends, and extended family. She will be missed tremendously and forever in our hearts.

A viewing will be held from 1:00pm until 5:00pm Friday, November 19, 2021 at Russell Funeral Home.

Private funeral services will be held Saturday, November 20, 2021. Interment will follow in Fort Lincoln Cemetery, Brentwood, MD.