Elizabeth "Libby" Irby Aden

Elizabeth (Libby) Irby Aden died at home on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. She was 96 years old. She was born on December 6, 1929 to Byron and Eva (Sharp) Irby. She was the sixth of seven children. She is preceded in death by her brothers, Troy, Joe Ben, Buck, Paul, and Roger, and their wives, as well as her sister, Maxine and her husband. Also preceding her in death was her son, Robert Paul (Bobby) Aden and her husband, Robert Clark (Bob) Aden. She is survived by her daughter, Marty Aden, Sue Leach, and many nephews and nieces, their spouses and families – and many friends!

Libby was a life-long member of the Cumberland Presbyterian (CP) Church. She graduated from high school and left home at 17 to attend Bethel College (now Bethel University) in McKenzie. She graduated in 1951 with a B.S. degree in Business Administration. After graduation, she worked for the CP Board of Missions in Memphis, TN.

After a short time back home in Texas, she wanted to teach. She went to George Peabody College for Teachers (now part of Vanderbilt University) in Nashville, Tennessee, to earn her Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling. She graduated in 1955.

She returned to Bethel and worked as a teacher for one year but didn’t like the homework! She then went to work for the President of Bethel as his secretary. That’s when Robert (Bob) Aden came there to teach. She didn’t like Bob at first, but he was persistent in his pursuit of Libby and finally won her over. They married on April 4, 1958.

Their son, Bobby, was born while they lived in McKenzie. Bob then accepted a position at North Texas State University, and the family moved to Denton, Texas, where their daughter, Marty, was born. They remained in Texas another few years and then Bob accepted an offer to be the Dean of the Graduate School at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). The family moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee in 1967.

When the children were older, Libby went back to work, this time as a legal secretary. She worked for William Burton, Attorney at Law, for more than 20 years, once winning the Legal Secretary of the Year award.

She moved to Mt. Vernon, Texas in 2001 to help take care of her siblings. There, she was involved in many organizations as well as the Pine Hill CP Church (her home church).

In October of 2017, she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina to live with Marty and Sue Leach. Libby attended Winter Park Presbyterian Church in Wilmington. In recent years she and her family were involved in starting a new worshiping community in Wilmington, called The Table. She quickly connected with the people who attended regularly and had a presence that put them at ease.

She was an Elderhaus/PACE participant and often joked that her “school bus” was here to get her. She had a dry sense of humor and a beautiful smile. She was greatly loved and will be greatly missed!

Visitation will be from 4pm to 6pm on Friday, May 29, 2026, at the Andrews Valley Chapel location. A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held at Winter Park Presbyterian Church this Sunday, May 31st at 3pm. The service will be streamed at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQRab7x5V3c

Everyone is welcome to attend both events. She will be buried in Murfreesboro with her husband and son.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Winter Park Presbyterian Church, https://winterparkpresbyterian.org, or to Best Friends Animal Society, https://bestfriends.org, two of the many organizations Libby supported.