Emmie Elizabeth (Libby) Steadman, Col., U. S. Army Reserves (Ret.), 78, died Thursday, July 30, 2026, after a valiant battle with cancer. Born January 17, 1948, in the Woodruff hospital, near the family home in rural Moore, South Carolina, she was the only child of Bernard and Mary L. Lee Steadman.

She was in the second graduating class of the new Dorman High School in Spartanburg in 1966. As clarinet player in the high school band, she visited Clemson University on “Band Day” and knew then that she would become a Tiger. As a student at Clemson, she was in the 2nd graduating class of the new nursing program there, earning an associate degree in 1968.

Embracing the promise of the Lord in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans...to give you hope and a future,” she answered God’s call on her life and began a nursing career in Spartanburg. She was there for three years before moving to MUSC in Charleston where she worked in the ICU for five years while earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1975.

While at MUSC, she was encouraged by a fellow nurse to join the Nurse Corps of the US Air Force Reserves. However, a technicality hindered acceptance by the Air Force because Clemson’s nursing program was one year short of being fully accredited. She turned to the Army instead and was accepted and commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Nurse Corps of the US Army Reserves in 1974. The Air Force’s loss was certainly the Army’s gain.

From MUSC, she went to Birmingham, Alabama, to attend graduate school, earning a master’s degree in cardiovascular nursing while serving in the reserve unit there. A few years later, she relocated to Savannah, Georgia, to work in the Critical Care Clinic at Savannah Memorial Hospital. While working there, she became part of the 345th Combat Support Hospital in Jacksonville.

In 1984, she returned to work at MUSC for the next 28 years where she earned a post-master’s certificate from USC, worked as an acute-care practitioner, and served as director of nursing and as instructor in the College of Medicine. She officially retired from MUSC in 2012 after 44 years in the profession.

All the while that she was working in the nursing profession, she kept rising in the ranks of the Army Reserves. In 1990, Operation Desert Storm called her into active service. As a lieutenant colonel she was in the MASH unit, operating out of tents in the middle of the desert. Upon her return, she taught Combat Trauma Nursing to military units throughout the US. By 1995, she was the chief nurse in Atlanta, commanding medical units in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. She was one of 21 female officers in a class of 225 to graduate from the US Army War College, the highest level of military education.

Shortly after 9/11, she was in the first major unit to go to Afghanistan as part of the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade. As Colonel Steadman, she was the highest-ranking female service member in Afghanistan. She drew much attention from the locals, for it was an unusual sight to see a woman in uniform driving an Army vehicle, while avoiding mortar rounds coming into Kabul.

After 30 years in the Army Nurse Corps and the recipient of stars and awards too numerous to list, she retired in 2004. The next year the “Women in Military Service for America” Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery contacted her for permission to display her uniform and pictures in a feature of her as one of the modern pioneers of women who served their country. Her devotion to country is recorded in the Military Women’s Memorial building at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery in the nation’s capital.

Libby’s life was committed to God and country. A “cradle” Presbyterian, she was baptized as an infant in the Nazareth Presbyterian Church of Moore, South Carolina, and remained a Presbyterian and a faithful follower of Jesus Christ her entire life. Retirement from the nursing profession and the Army Reserves was followed by years of church and community service.

After her retirement from the Reserves, she purchased property on Chessey Creek in the Ace Basin of Colleton County and built a home, where she spent time on weekends while continuing to work at MUSC. Her love for the world of nature surrounding her home culminated in certification as Master Gardener by Clemson University Extension. After her retirement from MUSC in 2012, she moved permanently to that home in Colleton County and joined Bethel Presbyterian Church in Walterboro. Throughout the 14 years after retirement, she served Bethel as an ordained elder, member of the choir, chair of Congregational Care, volunteer team for the “Hands of Christ,” and member of the Bethel Cemetery Restoration Committee. Recently, Bethel held a “Festival of Music” service to dedicate the new grand piano that she gave to the church.

Libby’s love for the nursing profession and concern for the needy continued with volunteer service at the Good Neighbor Free Medical Clinic in Beaufort one day each week. She continued in that service from her retirement until her recent illness. Clemson University honored her as a pioneer in the School of Nursing in a prize-winning feature by Ken Scar in the September 7, 2020, edition of Clemson News. Colossians 3:12 depicts Libby’s life well lived: “… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”

As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, Daughters of American Colonists, and the Daughters of the War of 1812, she became immersed in genealogy studies, receiving service awards for patriotism, military service, and historical research. Her community volunteer work included Spoleto, the Dock Street Theater in Charleston, the historic Charleston Foundation tours, and the Colleton County Historical Society.

Surviving are Honey, her beloved miniature poodle; cousins Muriel Ellenburg, Charlene Hightower, Eddie Nunn; and the Bethel Presbyterian family.

Special thanks are extended to Mitzi Carter, a dear friend and caregiver; her church sisters in Christ; and Agape Care Hospice.

A graveside service with full military honors will be held at the ancestral family plot of the Nazareth Presbyterian Church Cemetery, 680 Nazareth Church Road, Moore, South Carolina, at 12 noon on Tuesday, August 4. The service will be conducted by Pastor Henry Meeuwse of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Walterboro, SC.

A memorial service will be held at a later date at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Walterboro, conducted by Pastor Meeuwse.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Nazareth Presbyterian Church Cemetery Fund, 680 Nazareth Church Rd., Moore, SC 29369, or to Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery Fund, 403 Church Street, Walterboro, SC 29488.

J. F. Floyd Mortuary of Spartanburg is in charge of arrangements.