Laura Carpenter Grant
WILLISTON - Laura Carpenter Grant of Williston died Friday at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Williston. She was 91.
Mrs. Grant was a former teacher, school bus driver, bookkeeper and office manager.
She was born in White Plains, N.Y., and moved to Williston 29 years ago.
Mrs. Grant helped start the Pink Ladies gift shop at Williston Memorial Hospital and was past president of Pink Ladies, now Nature Coast Hospital Auxiliary.
She was a member of Levy County Farm Bureau, Levy County Fair, Williston Library Association, Retired Teachers Association of Levy County and was past president of Williston Women's Club. She was food chairwoman of Williston Chapter's American Association of Retired Persons and was named Williston "Citizen of the Year" in 1980.
Survivors include two daughters, Ida Leiser of Stuyvesant, N.Y., and Helen Cook of Williston; three grandchildren; nine great-grand children; and two great- great-grandchildren.
Mabel Johnson Hall
O'BRIEN - Mabel Johnson Hall of O'Brien died Monday at her home. She was 95.
Mrs. Hall was a homemaker and a member of O'Brien Baptist Church.
She was born in Farmington, Mont., and moved to O'Brien 76 years ago.
Survivors include three daughters, Leona Sullivan and Evelyn Byrd, both of O'Brien, and Jenelle Kerr of Jacksonville; 10 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and 10 great-great-grandchildren.
Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to Hospice of North Central Florida in Lake City.
Charles C. Snowden Sr.
Charles C. Snowden Sr. of Gainesville died Sunday at North Florida Regional Medical Center after a long illness. He was 66.
Mr. Snowden was a captain for the Gainesville Police Department until his retirement in 1981. He later worked for Alachua County Sheriff's Office until 1996.
He was born in Trenton and moved from Trenton to Gainesville 59 years ago. He was a graduate of Gainesville High School, Santa Fe Community College, University of Central Florida in Orlando cum laude and the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Snowden was a member of Westside Baptist Church, Gator Boosters, Gainesville Police Department of Retired Police Officers, was executive secretary/treasurer of the Florida FBI National Academy Association and was a charter member and past president of both the Fightin' Gator Touchdown Club and the Gator Dugout Club.
Survivors include his wife, Vita Parrish Snowden of Gainesville; two sons, Charles C. "Chuck" Snowden Jr. and Danny L. Snowden, both of Gainesville; two sisters, Margaret Youngblood and Linda King, both of Gainesville; a brother, W.C. "Buck" Snowden of Gainesville; and four grandchildren.
Allen Robert Wilcox
CHIEFLAND - Allen Robert Wilcox of Chiefland died Friday at Shands at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He was four days old.
Allen was a Baptist.
Survivors include his parents, Allen Jr. and Janine M. Wilcox of Chiefland; a sister, Shelby Lehman of Chiefland; and two brothers, Charles Lehman and Christopher Groover, both of Chiefland; maternal grandfather and step-grandmother, the Rev. Jeremy and Candy Shumaker of Indianapolis; maternal grandmother and step-grandfather, Linda and Ronnie Lehman of Indianapolis; paternal grandparents, Allen Sr. and Susie Q. Wilcox of Fanning Springs; maternal great-grandparents, the Rev. Basil and Nillie Shumaker of Indianapolis; maternal great-grandmother, Linda Oaks of Fanning Springs; and paternal great-grandmother, Margaret Lee of Detroit.
Dr. Thomas H. Maren
GAINESVILLE -- Longtime University of Florida scientist Dr. Thomas H. Maren, whose pioneering research in modern pharmacology led to the development of the top-selling glaucoma drug Trusopt, died Sunday morning at his summer home in Salsbury Cove, a suburb of Bar Harbor, Maine, after a lengthy illness. He was 81.
Dr. Maren's love of research, which spanned 61 years -- more than 40 were spent at UF -- was matched by his dedication to his students, said his colleagues.
"Throughout his life he remained a student himself, " said Dr. Robert T. Watson, a UF professor of neurology and senior associate dean for educational affairs in the College of Medicine. "He loved being able to teach students one-on-one, and for many years he would take a student with him to Maine and they would do research together."
One of those students is Dr. Andrew Fine, a neurosurgery resident at UF, who spent three summers in a row, 1990-92, working with Dr. Maren.
"When I knew him he was already in in mid-70s, and yet he had no problem relating to the issues of a 19-year-old at the beginning of his career, which I was at the time, " Fine said. "He was a great counselor and a great scientist."
In June, just before leaving for Maine, where he also conducted research at the Mount Desert Island Biological in Salsbury Cove, Dr. Maren donated $125, 000 to construct a student reading room, which is to be named in his honor, Watson said.
"That was sort of typical of Tom. He had a great love of reading. He didn't want it to be just a lounge. He wanted it to be elegant, a place where students could go to relax and read, " said Watson, who had known Dr. Maren for about 35 years.
The donation came from the fruits of his research -- the eye drop called Trusopt, generically known as dorzolamide. Merck and Co. began marketing the product in 1995 under an exclusive licensing agreement with UF, and it is now sold worldwide for the treatment of glaucoma, a disease in which clogged or blocked passages do not allow fluid in the eye to drain, or there is too much fluid produced inside the eye. Either condition can cause increased pressure inside the eye, which can damage the optic nerve, causing vision loss.
"He had a great interest in the fundamental properties of the enzyme carbonic anhydrase. Through his love of basic research, and his dedication in study of this enzyme, he was able to make a major contribution in the development of Trusopt for the treatment of glaucoma, " said Stephen Baker, professor and chairman of the department of pharmacology and therapeutics. The U.S.-patented Trusopt, which reduces pressure inside the eye, is the top income-generating product of UF research.
In the 1996-97 fiscal year, royalty income from Trusopt totaled $7.7 million, while royalties from Gatorade, the popular sports drink invented by UF's Dr. Robert Cade, totaled $5.3 million.
Dr. Maren invested some of the proceeds from his share of Trusopt royalties in a permanent endowed professorship in pharmacological research and teaching. His contribution will be combined with state matching money to create a $1.8 million endowment at the UF College of Medicine.
Additionally, Dr. Maren and his wife, Emily, founded the Maren Book Club, enabling students in four Alachua County schools to select, buy and keep up to five books in order to build their own home libraries.
And though he officially retired in June 1998 as a graduate research professor in the department of pharmacology and therapeutics -- he was the first chairman of the department and served for 22 years in that position -- he continued to make regular visits to his office.
A native of New York state, Dr. Maren received a bachelor's in chemistry and master's in English from Princeton University, and his doctor of medicine degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Before his appointment at UF in 1955, he served five years as an instructor of pharmacology at Johns Hopkins and four years as a pharmacologist with American Cyanamid Co., Stamford, Conn. He also served since 1953 as an investigator at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Salsbury Cove, Maine.
In 1997, he and his family endowed the E.K. Marshall and Thomas H. Maren Professorship in Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins.
His numerous honors and awards include the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's highest honor, its Distinguished Alumnus Award, presented to him late last year.
He attended St. Elizabeth Greek Orthodox Church in Gainesville with his family.
Survivors include his wife, Emily Maren of Gainesville; three sons, Peter Maren of Gainesville; James Maren of Bar Harbor, Maine, and David Maren of Flagstaff, Ariz.; Mrs. Maren's children; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Eden Baptist Church in Salsbury. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Eden Baptist Church, Old Bar Harbor Road, Salsbury Cove, Maine 04672.
A memorial service in Gainesville for Dr. Maren will be announced at a later date.
Nora Jane Blitch
Nora Jane "Janie" Blitch of Gainesville died Sunday at North Florida Regional Medical Center. She was 85.
Mrs. Blitch was born in Lake City and moved to Gainesville from Williston 35 years ago. She was a homemaker and a member of Lake Forest Baptist Church of Gainesville.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John Goree Blitch, and a son, Mitchell Blitch.
Survivors include her four daughters, Jill Carter and Doris Bevill, both of Gainesville, and Clara Davis and Roberta Owens, both of Williston; a son, Jessie Blitch of Orange Heights; a sister, Ethel Feagle of Gainesville; 30 grandchildren; 43 great-grandchildren; and many great-great- grandchildren.
Nina Ann Guerry Espenship
LAKE CITY -- Nina Ann Guerry Espenship of Lake City died Sunday at her home after a brief illness. She was 63.
Mrs. Espenship was a lifelong resident of Lake City. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her four sons, Robert Atterbury Espenship Jr. of Gainesville, Stephen Lee Espenship of Ocala and Joseph Mark Espenship and Guerry Brooke Espenship, both of Lake City; three brothers, Ted Guerry and Harry Guerry, both of Lake City, and Bill Guerry of Macclenny; two sisters, Barbara Allinder of Live Oak and Lora E. "Boots" Moore of Inman, S.C.; 12 grandchildren; and four great- grandchildren.
William T. Phillips
William T. Phillips of Gainesville died Monday at Shands at AGH. He was 76.
Mr. Phillips was born in Rome, Ga., and moved to Gainesville from Anniston, Ala., in 1951. He worked as an auto parts manager and mechanic before retiring. He was a charter member of the Lake Forest Baptist Church.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Zella Mae Phillips, and a son, William Fred Phillips.
Survivors include two sons, Lynn N. Phillips and the Rev. Frank W. Phillips, both of Gainesville; 10 grandchildren; and 12 great-great- grandchildren.
Homer Rollins
Homer Rollins of Gainesville died Aug. 12 at Integrated Health Services at Gainesville after a long illness. He was 85.
Mr. Rollins worked as a custodian at the Florida Book Store. He was born in Shortersville, Ala., and moved to Gainesville from Tallahassee in the early 1950s. He was a Baptist.
Survivors include his brother, Roy Rollins of Reddick; a sister, Maxie Lean Muse of Bushnell; and his stepmother, Warnnie Mae Rollins of Atlanta.
Harold E. Tripp
NEWBERRY -- Harold E. Tripp of Newberry died Saturday at Shands at the University of Florida. He was 72.
Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., Mr. Tripp moved to Newberry from Naples 10 years ago. He served in the Merchant Marines during World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Catherine Tripp of Newberry; two sons, Richard Tripp of Hampton and Charles Tripp of Monroe, N.C.; a daughter, Lora Holt of Newberry; four sisters, Lois Jorgenson and Linda Ellerbee, both of Land O'Lakes, Evelyn Rogers of Maggie Valley, N.C., and Faye Tripp of Tampa; and two grandchildren.
