Rebecca W. Jenkins
Rebecca W. Jenkins of Gainesville died Friday at Shands at AGH following a brief illness. She was 106.
Mrs. Jenkins was born in Suwannee County and moved to Gainesville in 1928.
She was a food service worker for the Alachua County School Board.
She was a member of St. Luke Church, where she served as a church mother, musician, financial trustee and member of the First Division Union of the Baptist Association.
Survivors include two daughters, Pauline Cullars of St. Paul, Minn., and Dorothy Franklin of Gainesville; two sons, Karry Williams and T.D. Williams, both of Gainesville; 41 grandchildren; 131 great-grandchildren; and 86 great-great- grandchildren.
Walter Merritt Johns
Walter Merritt Johns of Gainesville died Wednesday in Gainesville. He was 80.
Mr. Johns was born in Camilla, Ga., and moved to Gainesville from Savannah, Ga., in 1939.
He was a retired auto body repairman and a Christian.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Geneva Mixon Johns of Gainesville; two daughters and a son-in-law, Deborah Cowart and Janet and Jim Whitney, all of Gainesville; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Walter L. Johns and Steven and Nikki Johns, all of Gainesville; two brothers, Julian Johns of Savannah, Ga., and Thomas R. Johns of Brunswick, Ga.; nine grandchildren; and four great- grandchildren.
James Lewis
NEWBERRY -- James Lewis, a lifelong resident of Newberry, died Tuesday in Gainesville. He was 60.
Mr. Lewis served in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years.
He was a retired contractor and a former member of the Carpenters Union.
He was a member of Parker Road Baptist Church.
Survivors include two daughters, Valerie Christie of Gainesville and Lori Weaver of Crescent City; two sons, James Frederick Lewis of Newberry and Jimmy Vernon Lewis of Alachua; 12 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.
Martella L. Lloyd
Martella L. Lloyd of Gainesville died Wednesday in Gainesville. She was 84.
The Kansas native was a medical assistant and a member of Northwest Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Lambert L. Lloyd.
Survivors include a sister, Ernestine Buettner of Cuba, Mo.; and a brother-in-law, the Rev. Roy Jerrell of Gainesville.
John Piotrowski
John Piotrowski of Gainesville died Friday in Gainesville. He was 96.
Mr. Piotrowski was born in Slutsk, Belorussia, and moved to the United States in 1953. He lived in Gainesville for 27 years.
He was a printer and an ordained minister. He held a degree in theology and an honorary doctorate. He translated ancient Greek classics into Belorussian.
He was an officer in the Polish Army.
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Harry and Cristina Piotrowski of Maryland; a daughter-in-law, Linda Piotrowski Lavery of Gainesville; and six grandchildren.
Lona Primous
WILLISTON -- Lona Primous of Williston died Jan. 17 at North Florida Regional Medical Center. She was 86.
Mrs. Primous was born in Quitman, Ga., and moved to Williston many years ago. She was a member of Mount Olive A.M.E. Church for 50 years, where she served as church secretary. She was also a member of the Sunlight Pallbearers Club No. 70.
Survivors include two daughters and a son-in-law, Mildred Monroe and Mary Alice and Leo Joiner, all of Williston; a son, Israel Primous of Williston; eight grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and five great- great-grandchildren.
Deborah Lorraine Stallsworth Spann
Deborah Lorraine Stallsworth Spann died Saturday at her residence in Jacksonville. She was 40.
The Gainesville native moved to Jacksonville in 1989.
She was an office manager and a member of Rivers of Life.
Survivors include her husband, Edward Spann of Muskegon, Mich.; two daughters, Martha Stallsworth of Gainesville and Noell E. Spann of Jacksonville; two sons, Julius Shelton of Korea and Justin Shelton of Atlanta.; her mother, Glovine Miles Smith of Gainesville; her father, Willie D. Bryant Sr. of Gainesville; a sister, Rosa Spears of Fort Washington, Md.; and two brothers, Odell Hunt of Alachua and Starling Hunt Jr. of Gainesville.
Richard Lee Whitfield
Richard Lee Whitfield of Gainesville died Friday at Alachua Nursing Center following a brief illness. He was 77.
Mr. Whitfield was born in Quitman, Ga., and moved to Gainesville from Newberry in 1970.
He was a retired farmer and a member of Shady Grove Primitive Baptist Church and the Progressive Grand Union Pallbearers No. 129.
Survivors include a daughter, Alneather Whitfield of Valdosta, Ga.; six sons, Charlie Mack of Waldorf, Md., Grady Whitfield, Izell Whitfield, Otis Whitfield and Aubrey Whitfield, all of Valdosta, Ga., and Sylvester Walker of Orlando; two sisters, Rosia Lee W. Shephard of Plant City and Lucinda W. Hale of Gainesville; 19 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
J. B. Griffin
HAGUE -- J.B. Griffin of Hague died Saturday at his home. He was 71.
Mr. Griffin was born in Bell and moved to Hague 15 years ago.
He was a farmer and a member of Hague Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Elese Mann Griffin of Hague; a daughter, Mary Ann Sutton of Bell; a stepdaughter, Martina "Nicki" Griffin-Klema of LaCrosse; a son, J.B. Griffin Jr. of Fanning Springs; three brothers, Woodard Hucks of St. Augustine, Billie Griffin of Dade City and Lemuel Griffin of Bell; three sisters, Elsie Williams of Palatka, Kelsey Idell Sanders of Trenton and Estelle Bass of Gainesville; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Col. Fred R. "Fritz" Doran
Col. Fred R. "Fritz" Doran, who served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the 1970s, died Thursday at his home in Gainesville from an extended illness. He was 73.
Col. Doran was born in Columbus, Ohio, and moved here from Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in 1979. He was a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, and was a veteran of World War II and Vietnam. During his service, he received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Oak Leaf Cluster and Meritorious Service Award.
He served as battalion commander of the 4/12 Cavalry in Fort Carson, Colo.
Col. Doran was a graduate of Ohio State University, the Command General Staff College and the Army War College. He served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1972 to 1975.
Mr. Doran is preceded in death by his wife, Berneda J. Doran and a son, Michael R. Doran.
Survivors include a daughter Michelle "Shelly" Doran; a son, Mitchell A. Doran, both of Gainesville; a sister, Jeannette Bracaloni of Columbus, Ohio; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hospice of North Central Florida.
Judith Elizabeth Ahearn
OCALA - Judith Elizabeth Ahearn of Ocala died Oct. 30 from a motorcycle accident. She was 35.
Ms. Ahearn was born in Connecticut in 1964 and moved to South Florida as a child. As an adult, she spent time in Williston and eventually moved to Ocala, where she became a carpenters' helper.
She is survived by a son, Blake Ahearn of Alachua; her father, James Ahearn of Hawthorne; her mother Judith Ahearn of Alachua; a brother, Donnie Ahearn of Newberry; a niece, a cousin and many other family members.
She also is survived by her fiance, P. Michael Perreault of Ocala.
Bessie L. Asbell
WILLISTON - Bessie L. Asbell of Chiefland died Thursday at the Oakview Rehab & Care Center in Williston. She was 97.
Born in Trenton, Ms. Asbell was a lifelong resident of Chiefland, where she was a homemaker. She loved gardening and was a member of the First Baptist Church of Chiefland.
Survivors include a son, H.W. "Bubba" Asbell of Tallahassee; a daughter, Dorothy Hunt of Trenton; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the First Baptist Church of Chiefland.
Myrtle Missouro Barnes
STARKE - Myrtle Missouro Barnes of Starke died Thursday at Brookewood Nursing Center. She was 96.
Mrs. Barnes, a homemaker, was born in Dothan, Ala., and moved to North Central Florida in 1929.
She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Starke.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Alex L. Barnes.
She is survived by three sons, Tommy Barnes of Lawtey and Albert Barnes and David Barnes of Starke; four daughters, Lucille Ricks of Starke, Dorothy Woods of Bagdad, Ky., Eva Stephens of Starke and Ann McIntire of Melrose; 24 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.
