Lecy Mae Keller
WILLISTON - Lecy Mae Keller died Wednesday at North Florida Regional Medical Center. She was 90.
Mrs. Keller was born in Jonesboro, La., and moved to Williston from West Palm Beach 11 years ago.
Survivors include a daughter, Armantine "Tina" Wilson Hodges of Williston; sons Ben E. Keller of Atlanta and Jerry D. Keller of Newberry; brothers Malcom L. Keen of Williston, Levell M. Keen of Pensacola and Bobby G. Keen of Phoenix, Ariz.; a sister, Margie L. Bellamy of West Palm Beach; 18 grandchildren; 30 great-grandchildren; and 12 great-great- grandchildren.
Arrangements by Knauff Funeral Home.
Helen Anita Lynn
Helen Anita Lynn of Municie, Ind., died Wednesday in Indiana. She was 90.
She was a secretary and a Methodist.
Local survivors include a daughter, Mary Lou Merkner of Gainesville.
Arrangements by Parson Mortuary.
Virgil E. Langley
HAWTHORNE - Virgil E. Langley died Thursday at Shands at AGH. He was 90.
Mr. Langley was born in Herculaneum, Mo., and moved to Hawthorne from Orlando in 1985. He was a retired maintenance man and a member of Citra Church of God Independent.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Langley.
Survivors include his wife, Arbutus Dillon Langley of Hawthorne; daughters Wanda Bristow of Hawthorne, Marlene Elliott of Alton, Ill., and Charlene Rush of Glensdale, Calif.; sons Virgil L. Langley of Bowling Green, Mo., and Ronald and Donald Langley, both of Geneva, Ala.; stepdaughters Pat Ringstaff of Bradenton and Jodi Floyd of Brooker; stepsons Ken Dillon of East Bernard, Texas, and Matt Dillon of Hawthorne; 37 grandchildren; 45 great-grandchildren; and six great- great-grandchildren.
Arrangements by Williams-Thomas Funeral Home.
Noah H. Long Sr.
WILLISTON - Noah H. Long Sr. died Monday at the Good Samaritan Home. He was 80.
A retired federal game warden, he worked from Canada to South Florida in migratory game enforcement and participated in banding ducks, geese and doves to study their migratory patterns.
During his service in the 24th Mobile Construction Battalion during World War II, he participated in many amphibious landings in the South Pacific, where his battalion constructed airfields, ports, wharfs and bases in support of the island-hopping campaign.
After retirement, he returned to a lifelong hobby of raising and training championship bird dogs, which he showed in field trials throughout the Southeast. The National Field Trial Association, of which he was a lifelong member, twice named him Amateur Trainer of the Year. He was also a Mason.
Survivors include his wife, Lorene Long of Williston; daughters Linda White of Oberlin, La., Angel Sanders of Ocala and Jenny Whitener of Williston; sons Noah Long Jr. of Atlanta and Bill Long of Montgomery, Ala; nine grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Arrangements by Knauff Funeral Home.
Clarence R. Peabody
TRENTON - Clarence R. Peabody died Wednesday at North Florida Regional Medical Center from injuries sustained in a tractor accident. He was 85.
Mr. Peabody was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., and moved to Trenton from Lakeland in 1971.
He was a salesman and a member of Center Hill Church of Christ.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Jane Peabody.
Survivors include daughters Carol Ann Hyde of Trenton and Janelle Rudd of Jacksonville; a son, Byron Ralph Peabody of Mobile, Ala.; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Arrangements by Watson Funeral Home.
Lee Covington Willis
LIVE OAK - Lee Covington "Buster" Willis died Thursday at North Florida Regional Medical Center following an extended illness. He was 84.
The Suwannee County native was an independent timber dealer for 40 years. He served on the Suwannee County Commission from 1970 to 1978. He was a member of Westwood Baptist Church since 1948.
He was a member of the Live Oak Elks Lodge, the Barrett Lodge No. 43 F & AM, the York Rite Bodies, the Morocco Shrine Temple, the Live Oak Shrine Club and the Sportsman Club in Branford.
Survivors include his wife, Scyretha Barrington Willis of Live Oak; a daughter, Sandra Duval of Live Oak; a stepdaughter, Hope Poland of Tampa; a stepson, Hal Barrington of Starke; sisters Abbie and Margaret Clark, both of Live Oak; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Arrangements by Daniels Funeral Home.
Bernice Ellen Raetzke
Bernice Ellen Raetzke of Gainesville died Monday in an automobile accident in Gainesville. She was 79.
Mrs. Raetzke was born in Detroit and moved to Gainesville from Walled Lake, Mich., 13 years ago.
She was a homemaker and a retired secretary with an aerospace engineering firm. She served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Frederick William Raetzke.
Survivors include daughters Kathleen Ellen Griswald of Tucson, Ariz., and Patricia Jean Vosburgh of Gainesville; sons Frederick V. Raetzke of Enterprise, Ala., and James Edward Raetzke of Fort Clarke, Mich.; sisters Nancy Gibbs of Royal Oak, Mich., and Joanne Keller of Bonita Springs; and eight grandchildren.
Arrangements by Forest Meadows Funeral Home.
Charles Emerson Smith
INTERLACHEN - Charles Emerson Smith died Wednesday at his residence. He was 73.
Mr. Smith was born in Gouverneur, N.Y., and moved to Interlachen from Orlando in 1984.
He was a retired machine attendant with General Electric in Syracuse, N.Y. He was a World War II veteran and a Methodist. He enjoyed gardening.
Survivors include daughters Rita Parker, Jane Smith and Michelle Smith, all of Interlachen, Pamela Smith of Johnson, Julie Davis of Constantia, N.Y., Sharon Kirby of Gouverneur and Deana McIntire of Alabama; sons Marvin, Richard and John Smith, all of Interlachen, Duane Smith of Cleveland, Tenn., Jerry Smith of Parish, N.Y., Robert Smith of Baldwinsville, N.Y., and Michael Smith of Williamstown, N.Y.; a brother, Donald Smith of Central Square, N.Y.; sisters Elva Furrs, Helen Latray and Marsha Smith, all of Syracuse; 38 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Arrangements by Williams-Thomas Funeral Home.
Lionel Edgar Renaud
HAWTHORNE - Lionel Edgar "Mike" Renaud died Thursday at his residence following an extended illness. He was 65.
A native of Woonsocket, R.I., he moved to Hawthorne 11 years ago.
He was a maintenance supervisor and a member of the Community Church of God in Johnson.
Survivors include his wife, Sharon Rose Renaud of Hawthorne; sons Mark Renaud of Millville, Mass., and Daniel P. Renaud of Woonsocket; stepsons William Fikter and Christopher Fikter, both of Webster, Mass., and Vincent Pendleton of Oxford, Mass.; a granddaughter and step-grand- daughter.
Arrangements by Johnson-Overturf Funeral Home.
Mollie Elizabeth Porter
Oldest surviving church member dies at age 101
Mollie Elizabeth Porter of Gainesville died Aug. 22 at her daughter's house in Gainesville. She was 101.
Mrs. Porter was born to Alexander and Emma Jerdon Lynn in Abbeville, Ala., in 1900, the 11th of 13 children.
She attended private school in Alabama under Professor Abner Jackson, a classmate of George Washington Carver.
She was an avid reader and was particularly interested in the culture and lifestyle of England's Queen Mother and the Royal Family.
She married
Samuel L. Kirkland in 1918, and moved to Atlanta, where her two children were born.
They later moved to Jacksonville. She was widowed in 1950 and later married
Oscar Porter, a railroad employee.
She was the oldest surviving member of Williams Temple Church of God in Christ. She was a former member Faust Temple Church of God in Christ, where she was the chaplain of her choir.
She organized the Good Samaritan Prayer Band.
She held noontime interdenominational prayer meetings twice monthly and served as a missionary.
In 1968, her second husband died, and she moved to Gainesville to be with her daughter Sister Hazel Williams, director of Angel of Mercy Ministries.
In addition to her daughter, she is survived by two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Arrangements by Brooker T. Hunt Funeral Home.
