[2] Elizabeth Converse Nichols assisted her widowed mother as editor of the Wellsville Globe, from 1942 to 1957.

Layton credited this new pursuit with curing her depression and comforting her grief over her son's death in 1976.

[14] Earlier in 1980, Layton received first place out of 600 entries from the four states comprising the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Mid-Four Annual Juried show.

She experienced depression for much of her life, leading to some psychiatric hospitalizations and multiple rounds of electroconvulsive therapy.

The Elizabeth Layton Center for Hope and Guidance is a mental health clinic in Kansas, named in the artist's memory.