Adelle Ruth Parrish
CHIEFLAND -- Adelle Ruth Parrish of Chiefland died Sunday at the Hospice House of Gainesville. She was 76.
A native of Michigan, Mrs. Parrish moved to Chiefland 20 years ago. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include two daughters, Sharon King of Michigan and Barbara Lynn Stieve of Chiefland; a son, Raymond E. Stieve of Trenton; three sisters, Evelyn Kimball of Montana, Rose Miller of Michigan and Gene Davis of Florida; a brother, Orville Spencer of Oregon; 10 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to the Hospice of North Central Florida.
John Graham Spurrier Jr.
GREEN COVE SPRINGS -- The Rev. John Graham Spurrier Jr. died Monday at his residence in Green Cove Springs. He was 85.
A native of Charlotte, N.C., the Rev. Spurrier moved to Green Cove Springs from St. Petersburg 21 years ago. He was a retired Presbyterian minister and he attended Pinewood Presbyterian Church in Middleburg.
The Rev. Spurrier graduated from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1941. He was a member of the Gator Club.
Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Marjorie O. Spurrier of Green Cove Springs; a daughter, Sara K. Spurrier of Green Cove Springs; two sons, John G. Spurrier III of Johnson City, Tenn., and Stephen O. Spurrier of Gainesville; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to the Pinewood Presbyterian Church Building Fund.
Kathryn Rafford Suggs
Kathryn Rafford Suggs of Gainesville died Tuesday at the Hospice House of Gainesville. She was 81.
Mrs. Suggs was born in Mobile, Ala., and moved to Gainesville from Beverly Hills, Calif., in 1985. She was a saleswoman and a Methodist. She was a member of AARP, the Volunteers of America and the Salvation Army Volunteers.
Survivors include a daughter, Kathryn Renee Otterbein of Roundlake, Ill.; a son, William J. Suggs III of High Springs; a stepson, Jeffry W. Suggs of Newberry; a brother, James W. Rafford of Miami; and two grandchildren.
Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to the Hospice of North Central Florida.
Joe Junior Taylor
Joe Junior Taylor of Gainesville died Sunday at North Florida Regional Medical Center. He was 71.
A native of Kentucky, Mr. Taylor moved to Gainesville from TyTy, Ga., eight years ago.
He was a farmer and a Pentecostal.
Survivors include his wife, Linda Ann Pugh Taylor of Gainesville; a son, Andrew Allen Taylor of Gainesville; three daughters, six sisters and six brothers.
Chester R. Yates
Chester R. Yates, a longtime Gainesville community leader, died Sunday in Tampa. He was 90.
A native of Plant City, Mr. Yates moved to Gainesville 60 years ago.
In 1964 he received The Gainesville Sun's annual Community Service Award for promoting improved race relations and better understanding between Americans and foreign students at the University of Florida.
He was a teacher and principal at the Avon Park High School. He also was a chartered life underwriter with New York Life Insurance Co.mpany for 63 years, during which time he received the C.G. Snead Award for "outstanding service to the life insurance industry in the State of Florida."
He was a member and former president of the Rotary Club of Gainesville. He received the highly prestigious Rotary International President's Award and the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his "outstanding efforts to promote the Rotary Foundation in programs dedicated to international understanding."
He was also an honorary member of the Rotary Club in Gainesville.
Mr. Yates was president of the Gainesville Council for International Friendship; chairman of the 1954 Gainesville Centennial Celebration, the Civitan Regional Blood Bank Campaign, the Gainesville Bi-Racial Committee and the Building Committee, which made possible the present facility of the Bell Nursery; and director of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Voluntary Action Center; and the Florida National Bank of Gainesville. He also was involved with fund raising for the Hospice House of Gainesville.
Mr. Yates graduated from the University of Florida in 1932, where he was chancellor of the Honor Court, cadet commander of the ROTC, and a member of the Florida Blue Key and Pi Kappa Phi.
During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as the head of the Technique of Instruction School at Fort Sill, Okla. He retired at the rank of colonel.
He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Gainesville, where he served as a deacon, lay preacher and Sunday school teacher.
Mr. Yates was preceded in death by his wife, Sue Graham Yates.
Survivors include a daughter, Bobbie Sue Robertson of Tampa; a son, Sanford V. Yates of Alachua; two sisters, Viola Waldorf of Woodstock, Va., and Vernelle Noyes of Santa Barbara, Calif.; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to Hospice of North Central Florida.
Fannie Mae Moore Bradley
Fannie Mae Moore Bradley died Friday at her residence in Grove Park following a brief illness. She was 58.
Mrs. Bradley was born in Willacoochee, Ga., and she moved to Grove Park 30 years ago.
She was a cook and a member of Mount Pedro Missionary Baptist Church in Micanopy, where she as a deaconess and a choir member.
Survivors include her husband, Robert Lee Bradley Sr. of Grove Park; a daughter, Jacquelyn J. Edwards of Pearson, Ga.; five stepdaughters, Gloria Peace, Joyce Cromartie and Brenda Williams, all of Gainesville, and Rosemary Jackson and Maxine Bradley, both of Micanopy; a stepson, Robert Lee Bradley of Grove Park; her mother, Vera Moore of Jacksonville; six sisters, Essie M. McElveen of Huntsville, Ala., Lois West of St. Petersburg, Dora Mae Peagus of Brooklyn, Bertha Smith of Tampa, Ollise Feliz of Ocala, Carolyn Caswell of Jacksonville; two brothers, Cornelius Moore and Squire Moore, both of Pearson, Ga.; 17 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Betty C. Stewart Brown
Betty C. Stewart Brown of Gainesville died Sunday at her residence in Gainesville following a brief illness. She was 55.
Mrs. Brown was born in Blountstown and moved to Gainesville from Interlachen two years ago.
She was a Georgia Pacific employee and a member of the Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church.
Survivors include four daughters, Carolyn Harris of Newport News, Va., and Barbara J. Stewart, Belinda Stewart and Sheila Brown, all of Gainesville; two sons, Alvin Stewart of Interlachen and Dennis Stewart of Gainesville; her father, Sylvester Stewart of Panama City; five sisters, Effie M. Mathis of Trenton, Annie M. Greene and Helen Allen, both of Bronson, Evelyn Anderson of Gainesville and Beanie Grigler of Lynn Haven; four brothers, David Lewis of Bronson, Glen Allen of Gainesville, Sylvester Stewart Jr. and Clarence Stewart, both of Panama City; 19 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
John B. Connors
BELL -- John B. "Jack" Connors of Bell died of cancer April 11 at the Hospice House of Gainesville. He was 61.
Mr. Connors, a retired insurance agent, was born in Stoughton, Mass., and moved to Bell from Spring Hill in 1986.
He was a former professional baseball player in the farm league of the Boston Red Sox.
He was a member of AARP and the Moose Lodge.
Mr. Connors attended St. Madeleine Catholic Church in High Springs.
Survivors include his wife, Judy Connors of Bell; two daughters, Mary Montminy of State College, Pa., and Patricia Connors of Ann Arbor, Mich.; five stepdaughters, Marjorie Wilkinson of Bell, Susanne Picanzo of Gardiner, Maine, Kathryn Hughes of Ann Arbor, Mich., Judi Swidan of Ypsilanti, Mich., and Christine Sheffield of Chiefland; a son, John F. Connors of Holliston, Mass.; two stepsons, Steven Gilbert of Boston and Ronald Gilbert of Wilmington, N.C.; a sister, Nancy Guenthner of Billings, Mont.; 15 grandchildren and two stepgrandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Theresa Dixon
ALACHUA -- Theresa Dixon, a lifelong resident of Alachua, died at home May 4. She was 78.
Mrs. Dixon was a cook and a member of Westside Church of God in Christ, where she served on the Mother's Board.
Survivors include two daughters, Musheerah Shahid of Gainesville and Eunice Garrison of Alachua; five sons, Larry Dixon Sr. of Mitchellville, Md., Woodrow Dixon of Atlanta, Alfred Dixon of Tampa, Dewayne Dixon of Gainesville and Charles Williams of Fort Lauderdale; five sisters, Daisy Johnson and Naomi Griffin, both of Jacksonville, Julia C. Keys, Betty Mingo and Ida Johnson, all of Miami; two brothers, Samuel Jones of Jacksonville and Ernest Jones of Dublin, Ga.; 33 grandchildren; and 41 great- grandchildren.
Claretha Howard
BRONSON -- Claretha Howard of Bronson died May 2 at Shands at AGH following a brief illness. She was 79.
Mrs. Howard was born in Hernando and moved to Bronson from Otter Creek 37 years ago.
She was a homemaker and a member of St. John Missionary Baptist Church.
Survivors include two sons, Thomas Howard and Tommy Lee Howard, both of Bronson; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
Priscilla Gail Ivey
Priscilla Gail Ivey of Philadelphia, Pa., died May 4 in Philadelphia. She was 44.
Mrs. Ivey was born in Keystone Heights and moved to Philadelphia from Hawthorne two years ago.
She was a human service worker and she attended Interlachen High School.
Survivors include a daughter, Felicia Griffin of Gainesville; three sons, Christopher Griffin and Mikal A. Craig, both of Hawthorne, and Justice M. Timbers of Philadelphia; her parents, James and Madell Ivey of Hawthorne; three sisters, Carole Mathews, Gloria Manning and Contina Ivey, all of Hawthorne; two brothers, Clifford L. Ivey and Jamie R. Ivey, both of Hawthorne; and three grandchildren.
Martha Johnson
CHIEFLAND -- Martha Johnson of Chiefland died Thursday at her sister's home in Chiefland. She was 65.
Mrs. Johnson was born in Argyle, Ga., and moved to Chiefland from Decatur, Ga., 20 years ago.
She was a former nursing assistant at Emory Hospital in Atlanta and a member of Holiness Church.
Survivors include a daughter, Tanga Perry of Decatur, Ga.; a son, Clanton Johnson Jr. of Fort Lauderdale; her mother, Margaret Cooper; four sisters, Loretha Lee of Chiefland, Queen Foster of Lakeland, Ga., Betty Johnson of Tampa and Clanthia Johnson of Morrow, Ga.; and a brother, Theo Ogunyode of Greensboro, N.C.
