Effie Leland Wilder (August 28, 1909 – July 19, 2007) was an American

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

and writer. The first book she wrote was published when she was 85 years old, it was titled ''Out to Pasture''.

Personal life

She was born on August 28, 1909, in Rockingham,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, USA, to Effie Williams Leland and Warren Allston Leland. She graduated from

Converse College Converse University is a private university in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was established in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse. It was originally a women's college but now admits ...

. She married Allison F. P. Wilder and had one daughter, Frances Townsend, and three sons, Allison F. P. Wilder, Jr., John A. L. Wilder, and W. Leland Wilder. She had seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She died July 19, 2007, in Summerville,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

at age 97.

Career as author

Wilder authored five books: ''Older But Wilder'', ''Out To Pasture'', ''One More Time'', ''Over What Hill?'' and ''Oh, My Goodness!''. Published when Wilder was 85 years old, her first book ''Out to Pasture'' received good reviews from ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

''.

Activities and honors

Wilder served on the board of directors for the Lowcountry

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

for 16 years, Timrod Library for 15 years, the

Dorchester County Dorchester County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Dorchester County, Maryland * Dorchester County, South Carolina Dorchester County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was ...

Library for 17 years and Summerville Meals on Wheels. She was an honorary Lifetime Member of Women of the Church at Summerville Presbyterian Church, former officer of the Summerville Preservation Society, and a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames in South Carolina. She received the Distinguished Alumna Award from

in 1982.

South Carolina Governor The governor of South Carolina is the head of government of South Carolina. The governor is the ''ex officio'' commander-in-chief of the National Guard when not called into federal service. The governor's responsibilities include making year ...

Jim Hodges James Hovis Hodges (born November 19, 1956) is an American businessman, attorney, and politician who served as the 114th governor of South Carolina from 1999 to 2003. A former member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, Hodges is t ...

proclaimed August 28, 2001 as Effie Wilder Day. She was also a recipient of the

Order of the Palmetto The Order of the Palmetto is the highest civilian honor awarded by the governor of South Carolina. It is awarded to South Carolinians who demonstrate extraordinary lifetime achievement, service and contributions of national or statewide significan ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Effie Novelists from South Carolina 1909 births 2007 deaths 20th-century American novelists American women novelists 20th-century American women writers People from Rockingham, North Carolina

Personal life

Career as author

Activities and honors

See also

References