Christopher Scott Smith
HIGH SPRINGS -- Christopher Scott Smith died Sunday in an auto accident near High Springs. He was 23.
He was born in Oneida, N.Y., and moved to High Springs from Gainesville six and a half years ago.
He graduated from Sante Fe High School in 1996 and became a musician. He was the lead guitarist in the Sweetwater Band.
He was a Baptist.
Survivors include his parents, Teresa M. Smith and David E. Smith of High Springs; a sister, Tabetha M. Smith of High Springs; his maternal grandparents, Robert and Mary Murabito of Phoenix; and his paternal grandmother, Evelyn A. Smith of Gainesville.
Jim Frank Weeks
CHIEFLAND -- Jim Frank Weeks died Wednesday at Nature Coast Regional Hospital in Williston. He was 77.
He was a lifelong resident of Chiefland. He worked as a heavy-equipment operator and served in the U.S. Army.
Mr. Weeks was a member of Mount Zion Church of Jesus Christ.
He was preceded in death by a son, Chris N. Weeks.
Survivors include his wife, Emmer Lee Weeks of Chiefland; two daughters, Melinda Everette of Branford and Laverne Jernigan of Chiefland; two sons, David Weeks of Cross City and Kelly Weeks of Chiefland; four half-brothers, George Gainey, Hal Gainey and Sidney Gainey, all of Cross City, and Marvin Gainey of Ann Arbor, Mich.; a sister, Gladys McCullough of Chiefland; and nine grandchildren.
Brian Jeffrey Miller
Brian Jeffrey Miller of Gainesville died Friday in Orange Lake. He was 24.
Born in Orlando, Miller was a construction worker who moved to Gainesville three-and-a-half years ago.
Miller was affiliated with Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Gainesville.
Survivors include his mother and father, Ruth A. Miller of Orlando and Stephen A. Miller of Gainesville; a sister, Catherine Locke of Mary Esther; and two grandmothers, Ruth B. Kosar of Orlando and Marguerite Miller of Charlotte, N.C.
Theodore L. Paulling Jr.
Theodore L. "Teddie Ray" Paulling Jr. of San Mateo died Friday at Putnam Community Medical Center in Palatka. He was 53.
Mr. Paulling was a member of the I.B.E.W. Local No. 1205 of Gainesville.
Born in Hawthorne, he had lived in San Mateo for the last 20 years.
Survivors include his wife, Gracie L. Paulling of San Mateo; two sons, Theodore Ray Paulling of High Springs and Joseph Thomas Paulling of Green Cove Springs; a daughter, Traci Marie Paulling of Waldo; a brother Ernest Thomas Paulling of Bell; a sister, Dorothy Ann Paulling of Gainesville; and four grandchildren.
Leslie Y. Stawski
Leslie Y. Stawski of Hollywood, Fla., died in Hollywood Hills Nursing Home on Friday. She was 45.
Born in Oceanside, N.Y., Mrs. Stawski moved to Hollywood from Liberty, N.Y., in 1974.
For 22 years, she worked as an insurance adjuster and supervisor for Oak Casualty Insurance Company in Hollywood.
She was a past commander of U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 03-08 in Plantation; past president of American Legion Auxiliary Post 310 in Hallandale; a member of VFW Auxiliary Post 2500 and Vietnam Vets Post FL4, both in Hollywood.
Survivors include her husband, John Stawski of Hollywood; her mother, Eleanor Cahill of Gainesville; and two brothers, Gregg Cahill and Wayne Cahill, both of Gainesville.
Helen Geyer Tannehill
Helen Geyer Tannehill of Gainesville died Sunday at Palm Garden Nursing Home after a long illness.
She was 95.
Mrs. Tannehill was a homemaker. Born in Pittsburgh, Mrs. Tannehill had lived in Gainesville since 1978.
Mrs. Tannehill was a member of Grace Presbyterian Church and the Telephone Pioneers of Gainesville.
She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Marion Cricket Club and the Union League of Philadelphia, and she was on the board of directors of the Humane Society in Philadelphia.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Ray S. Tannehill. Survivors include many nieces and nephews.
Geneva Harden Witt
Geneva Harden Witt of Lake City died Saturday at Shands at Lake Shore Hospital in Lake City after a brief illness. She was 87.
Mrs. Witt, a homemaker, lived in Columbia County since 1914.
She was a member of the Fidelis Sunday School Class of First Baptist Church in Lake City; the Lake City Garden Club; the Order of the Eastern Star; the Homemakers Club of Columbia County; and an Elkette of the Lake City Elks Club .
Survivors include her daughter, Shirley Witt Thomas of Lake City; her son, Ralph Paul Witt Jr. of Lake City; two sisters, Crill Harden Pearce of Casselberry and Eloise Harden Perkins of Tampa; two brothers, Neville L. Harden of Sanford and Joseph Leroy Harden of Tampa; and seven grandchildren.
Luther E. White
Luther E. "Buddy" White of Gainesville died Saturday at his home. He was 66.
He served 21 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a senior chief petty officer. He then worked 20 years with AT&T; Corp. as a maintenance engineer.
Born in Oklahoma, he had lived in Gainesville since 1979. He was a Baptist.
Survivors include his wife, Eleanor DuVal White of Gainesville; a son, Robert White of Los Angeles; three daughters, Robin White of Orlando, Dr. Bridget Shore of Memphis and Brenda DuVal of Los Angeles; two sisters, Louise Kovalick of Nashville and Marion West of Atlanta; and five grandchildren.
Olive K. Bond
WILLISTON -- Olive K. Bond of Williston died Friday at Nature Coast Hospital in Williston. She was 92.
Mrs. Bond was a retired school teacher.
Born in Hagerstown, Md., she moved 10 years ago from Gainesville to Williston.
She was a Catholic.
Survivors include a son, Kim A. Bond of Archer; and two grandsons, Kim A. Bond II of Archer and Michael D. Bond of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Louise Raulerson Latimer
Louise Raulerson Latimer of Gainesville died Friday at Palm Garden of Gainesville. She was 88.
Mrs. Latimer was a homemaker.
Born in Kingwood, Ga., she moved 65 years ago from Bartow to Gainesville.
She was past president of Alachua General Hospital Auxiliary and a 50-year member of the Gainesville Women's Club. She also was a member of the Gainesville Order the Eastern Star, chapter No. 44, and a Past Grand Electa of The Grand Chapter with the organization.
In addition, Mrs. Latimer belonged to the Dogwood Circle of the Garden Club, the Khem Temple of the Order of The Nile No. 85, the Daughters of The American Revolution, the Kirby Smith Chapter of United Daughters of The Confederacy and Southern Dames of America.
She was also a 60-year member of the First Baptist Church of Gainesville.
Survivors include two daughters, Bettie Latimer Kane of St. Augustine and Suzanne Latimer Dowling of Gainesville; a son, B.T. Latimer of Gainesville; 12 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Eleanor Kelly Jefferson
Eleanor Kelly Jefferson of Gainesville died Friday at the Mount Vernon Nursing Center in Alexandria, Va. She was 86.
Mrs. Jefferson was a retired tax accountant with the Northern Florida H&R; Block franchise. She also taught in Central Florida and helped her husband run a Gainesville grocery store.
Born in Mayo, she graduated from high school when she was 15 and then taught in a one-room school.
Her family later moved to Gainesville, where her mother, Birdie Swords Kelly, became the first woman to graduate from the University of Florida.
Mrs. Jefferson lived in Puerto Rico, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.. before moving back to Gainesville in the 1960s.
She was co-founder of Army Comptroller's Wives in the 1950s and a charter founder of Army Distaff Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Jefferson belonged to the Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville.
She was preceded in death by her husband, U.S. Army Col. Wayne Jefferson.
Survivors include two daughters, Laura Platter of Columbia, Md., and Pat Fox of Decatur, Ala.; a son, Maj. Gen. Wayne Jefferson Jr. of Alexandria, Va.; a sister, Sue Kelly Hoag of Farmington, Mich.; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Jefferson also has a son, James Jefferson, an Air Force fighter pilot who is listed as missing in action in Vietnam.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Florida United Methodist Children's Home in Deltona or the Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville.
