Businesswoman Lee Abrams dies

LAHAINA — A longtime West Maui businesswoman, Elizabeth DeBolt Cox Wilson — who was better known for decades as Lee Abrams — was remembered this week as a community leader heavily involved in a range of programs and activities.

Mrs. Wilson died April 15, at her Upcountry home under hospice care. She was 91.

Born Oct. 26, 1916, in Fort Worth, Texas, she came to Hawaii as a young woman who was a writer and active member of the Waikiki Yacht Club. After she moved to Maui, she was a founding member of the Lahaina Yacht Club and was the founding president of the Maui Board of Realtors.

West Maui Realtor James “Mac” Lowson said Mrs. Wilson, who had her own Lee Abrams Realty business, was a capable real estate investor. He recalled competing against her in bidding on a Front Street property that has been home to a series of successful restaurants.

“She beat me out in the bidding on that property many, many years ago. I was still under 30, and of course she had a little more in assets and experience and there was no doubt she would do what she wanted,” he said.

“She certainly has been very successful as a businesswoman. She sold a lot of real estate. She was a very outgoing person, a strong woman.”

Former Maui County Council Member Alvin Amaral said she was a “positive person,” someone who had the ability to speak easily with anyone and who was very involved in projects that supported the community.

Longtime Lahaina businesswoman Joan McKelvey said Mrs. Wilson was “a really nice lady” who was involved in community organizations such as the Red Hat Society.

According to her family, she was involved in an import business before going into real estate, was a member of the Maui Garden Club and volunteered with the American Red Cross and HATS of Maui. She was also a member of the League of Republican Women.

A memorial service for Mrs. Wilson will be held at 2 p.m. today at Ballard Family Mortuary. The family requests aloha attire. Burial will be in Sacramento, Calif., near the graves of her parents and brother.

The family suggests donations in her memory to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Team Double Trouble, c/o Richard Scruggs, P.O. Box 232474, Anchorage, Alaska 99523-2474.

She is survived by two sons, Richard (LaCinda) Meredith Scruggs and Louis (Charlee) Edmund Abrams; three daughters, Carol Elizabeth (Frank) Torres, Atlee Austin-Taylor and Meri-Jo (Ron) Manuel; a stepson, Scott Abrams; and six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.