Members of the University of Texas chapter of Alpha Delta Pi sorority suffered a great loss on Sept. 18 with the death of their sister Elizabeth “Lizzie” Abrams, 20, in an out-of-town car accident. Abrams, a Plano native, was a junior business student at the university and had been a member of ADPi since her freshman year.
“She was just an incredibly, incredibly sweet person,” said Lucy Paisley, a sorority sister of Abrams and one of her closest friends. She loved all of her friends very dearly, even when she didn’t need to.”
Paisley said Abrams was always there for friends in need, helping to bring them up when they felt down. “She was always trying to keep everyone around her happy,” Paisley said. “She helped everybody out as much as possible. She was just a very kind-hearted and uplifting person.”
Paisley, who lived with Abrams in the ADPi house last year, said she had a knack for knowing the right thing to say. “She would kind of come out of nowhere, just saying something that was incredibly funny,” Paisley said. “Because you get so caught up in daily life, and she would always be one of those people that would say something out of the blue that would just bring you down to Earth, that would just kind of make you take a step back, relax and enjoy the moment. So, she is just going to be very dearly missed.”
ADPi sister Jenna Pecot said the chapter found out about Abrams’ passing on the morning of Sept. 19, with an announcement from the chapter president and chaplain. “We had a program at the house,” Pecot said. “It was very sad. We had a memorial for her on [Sept. 21].”
Pecot, who attended Plano East Senior High School with Abrams, said she was “one of the sweetest people” that she ever knew. “She was in my homecoming group junior year of high school, and I didn’t know any of the people in that group, and she was just super welcoming and a great person, and she was just a wonderful person to know.”
Paisley said Abrams was an avid swimmer in high school, really enjoyed cooking and loved to plan and take part in festivals and events. “She was actually kind of the glue to our friend group because she was so organized,” Paisley said. “She loved planning events. If there was a party or something, she was always very into getting decorations, picking a theme and getting dressed up. She was a very creative person in that way.”
Paisley said Austin was a great fit for Abrams, with its many festive events and unique restaurants. “Whenever we would watch TV, I’m not kidding, it was literally always the food channel,” Paisley said. “She loved to cook. She was very into artsy or artisan foods. So, she was always excited to kind of explore Austin and do that. She really loved going to festivals and live concerts, just being able to get out and explore Austin.”
ADPi sister Elena Boardley said Abrams went out of her way to make her feel welcome when she was new to the sorority. “When I was going through [recruitment], when we got our bids, she was kind of the one that showed me around ADPi,” Boardley said. “We hung out a few times. She would always text me to invite me to go to the pool with her and her friends. She really tried to make me feel comfortable at UT, because I didn’t really know anyone, so she really helped me to get adjusted.”
Paisley said the loss of Abrams is something that the sorority is going to feel deeply for a long time. “We’re going to miss her an incredible amount,” Paisley said.
