Elizabeth Ann Trader

Elizabeth Ann Trader, 71, passed away peacefully after a brief illness on July 27, 2025 in Annapolis, MD, with her family by her side. She was born on October 29, 1953 at the United States Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA to her late Navy Captain father Robert Owen and Portuguese-Brazilian mother Lourdes Martins Owen.

Liz lived in many places throughout her life, including Paris, Florida, Ohio, Rio de Janeiro, Northern Virginia, and most recently Annapolis. Liz spent the majority of her adulthood on the Eastern Shore of Virginia where she raised her family and taught school. She attended Radford University before ultimately graduating from Salisbury University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Education from Old Dominion University.

For over two decades, “Ms. Trader” taught students from preschool through 4th grade. A natural teacher, everyone wanted to be in Ms. Trader’s class. Her classroom was filled with laughter, open mindedness and critical thinking, enriching and hands-on instruction, acceptance, music, movement, and fun. A self-described environmentalist, Ms. Trader coordinated science-based outdoor field trips for her students to locations like Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Kiptopeke State Park. Being a student of Ms. Trader’s was a joyful educational experience. So many former students were impacted by their time in her classroom that they stayed in touch with her as adults and passed on the knowledge and wisdom she taught them to their own families.

During her career, Ms. Trader held leadership positions in her school and received many awards and accolades. She was honored in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, received the Environmental Science Teacher of the Year Award, was Coordinator of the Environmental Club and founded and led the school recycling program.

Liz’s love for the natural world and environmental advocacy was not limited to her career. Liz was a fierce defender of the environment and all living things. She treated every day as Earth Day before it was mainstream. She took reusable bags to the grocery store in the 1990s despite people looking at her sideways. Always an activist, she and her daughter, Nicole, attended the 30th anniversary Earth Day festival in Washington DC. Liz created and led the “Concerned Citizens of Accomack County” grassroots organization when a power plant was being considered for development close to her family’s neighborhood. Her commitment and outspokenness through this group was heralded in the news and at meetings. In the end, the power plant was built, but the process was delayed and difficult due to Liz’s tenacity.

Anyone who has met Liz knows she was one of a kind, a strong willed, authentic, bold, resilient, tough, and charismatic woman. Through life’s challenges, she never lost her sense of humor and charm. She loved art (especially music), was a creative spirit, talented at growing plants and gardening, and a soulful cook (amazing how she could transform the humble bean), but more than anything loved her family and loved being a mother.

Despite being a nonconformist, Liz was a traditionalist when it came to her family: school nights around the kitchen table, weekends on the soccer field, trips to the library, walks with her beloved dogs, and long summer days spent at the pool and beach. Passed down to her from her father, Liz taught Nicole and Paige to love the water, to be lifelong swimmers, and to respect the natural world. Liz gave her children, Nicole and Paige, the gift of love, compassion, and acceptance, of shrewdness and grit. She loved her two children more than life itself.

Liz is preceded in death by her beautiful boy Edward Paige Trader, Jr. She is survived by her daughter Nicole Trader-Morgeson, her daughter-in-law Jennifer Trader-Morgeson, her dog Blossom, her granddog Coco Chanel, her siblings Christine Brady, Anita Merritt, and Steven Owen, and multiple nieces and nephews.

Amidst their grief, Liz’s family finds peace knowing she and Paige are together again. In the quiet moments, Liz and Paige can be seen: it’s late afternoon of a perfect beach day, a deep satisfaction of sun on their faces, their bellies full of Double Stuf Oreos and Diet Pepsi, riding the waves on their boogie boards as the sun sets over the dunes, howls of laughter and joy filling the salt air.

A Celebration of Life for Liz will take place on Saturday, September 6, 2025 in Chincoteague, VA. All are welcome. Please RSVP to 443-569-8468 to receive a detailed invitation and for planning purposes.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of these charities in Liz’s honor:

Environmental Defense Fund https://www.edf.org/

Rainforest Foundation https://rainforestfoundation.org/