Elizabeth Pantas

Elizabeth Lee Slawter Pantas, age 73, died peacefully on the beautiful spring morning of March 21, 2017, after a long battle with cancer. She was surrounded by family at her Fairview home, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of Asheville, NC.
Born on March 16, 1944, in Winston-Salem, NC, Elizabeth was the daughter of Hazel Elizabeth Newman and Ben Lee Slawter. Her maternal grandmother, Annie Hall Newman, was a significant figure in her life. When Elizabeth was age twelve, her father Ben Lee died. Elizabeth's mother married Henry Arthur Nading, Jr., a Winston-Salem realtor, who became her stepfather. Elizabeth graduated high school from Salem Academy, received a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Philosophy from Mary Baldwin College, and later graduated from Wake Forest University with a Master's of Arts Degree in Education with a specialty in Clinical Counseling.
As well as being a wife and mother, Elizabeth was a Licensed Professional Counselor and a member of the Licensed Professional Counselors Association of NC. Over the course of a career that spanned 45 years, she worked as a psychotherapist in community mental health centers in Connecticut and North Carolina and maintained a private practice that begin in 2002. During those year she helped many people grow in self-knowledge and achieve personal healing and wholeness.
After her marriage to Lee James Pantas in 1975, she joined the Roman Catholic Church and immediately became interested in the Discalced Carmelite Order, a contemplative religious community within the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1562 by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. In the early 1980's she joined the order of the Secular Discalced Carmelites (OCDS), and followed the teachings and rules of that order for the rest of her life. The emphasis of the Secular Discalced Carmelite order is to strive for union with God through contemplative prayer while living in the world, rather than in a convent or monastery. The ideals which the Secular Order members strive to achieve, under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and through the Holy Spirit, are a deep sense of God's love, fidelity to contemplative prayer, a spirit of detachment, and apostolic generosity in fraternal charity. Elizabeth's favorite saint was Thér&egravese of Lisieux, known also as "The Little Flower," and one of her favorite books was Thér&egravese's autobiographical book The Story of a Soul. While living in Asheville, she founded a small Secular Discalced Carmelite community named the "Flower of Carmel." She also established and maintained an online index of the Carmel Clarion, the official publication of the Discalced Carmelite Order. She was active in the parish community of the Basilica of St. Lawrence, where she was an member of the prayer and liturgical ministries. In addition to her professional career as a psychotherapist and counselor, she also was a loving spiritual guide to those fortunate souls who came to her from time to time for guidance and advice on their spiritual journeys.
She adored her family and friends, and always provided kind and loving support with a gentle smile. She loved to garden, and especially liked growing roses. Sharing a love of music with her mother, a concert harpist, Elizabeth enjoyed music throughout her life and played the dulcimer. Elizabeth was a wonderful cook and would sing little songs she made up about the household pets while she worked in the kitchen. She also enjoyed being outside in the natural beauty that surrounded her, whether working in the gardens, sitting under her favorite Mimosa tree, feeding the minnows and sunfish in the Pantas pond, or hiking through the mountains. She and her husband Lee had many pets during their years of marriage, but she especially loved the last one, a loveable little Chihuahua whom she named Porkchop.
She is survived by her husband Lee James Pantas, daughter Susanna Elizabeth Pantas and son Daniel Elijah Pantas. She is also survived by her brother Henry Arthur "Art" Nading, III, of Greensboro, NC, and sister Louise Lea Nading of Winston-Salem, NC, as well as many extended family members. A memorial service will be held at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, NC, on Saturday, March 25th 2017 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in her name to Catholic Relief Services, her favorite charitable organization. The Pantas family would like to especially thank CarePartners Hospice and Comfort Keepers, both of of Asheville, for their wonderful professional in-home support and services during the very last part of her life.