Chester Spann
Chester Spann of West Palm Beach died Nov. 6. He was 87.
Mr. Spann was born in Archer and moved to West Palm Beach in 1941.
He was a retired tire serviceman.
He is survived by two daughters, including Delorise Spann of Gainesville; five sons; four sisters, including Bernice Jones of Archer; two brothers, including Peter Spann of Archer; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Paul Clayton Barnett
Monday, November 29, 1999
Paul Clayton Barnett of Gainesville died Friday in Palm Garden of Gainesville. He was 89.
Mr. Barnett was born in Almo, Ky., and lived in Gainesville since 1957. He was a retired car salesman, a Mason and a member of Carol Estates Baptist Church.
Mr. Barnett was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth. Survivors include one son, Larry P. Barnett of Burke, Va.; one daughter, Geraldine Guenther of Gainesville; two sisters, Maude Cross of Oneida, Tenn., and Geraldine Brewer of Calvert City, Ky.; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Fred C. Francis
Fred C. Francis of Gainesville died Wednesday at Hospice House. He was 90.
Mr. Francis was born in Bluefield, W.Va., where he worked as the catalog department manager for the Bluefield Supply Company.
Mr. Francis moved to Gainesville in 1974 and was a member of the Breakfast Lions Club.
Mr. Francis was preceded in death by his wife, Edith Francis.
Survivors include two sons, Richard Francis of Gainesville, and David S. Francis of Lovingston, Va.; two sisters; Elizabeth Agee of Farmville, Va., and Rachael McMullin of Bluefield, W.Va.; and two grandchildren.
Quincy Clyde Jones
Quincy Clyde Jones of Gainesville died Sunday in Gainesville. He was 74.
Mr. Jones was born in Newberry and lived in Gainesville most of his life. He was a food service salesman and a Sunday school director at Northwest Baptist Church, where he conducted church visitations with the youth group.
Mr. Jones was preceded in death by a daughter, Evin Rountree. Survivors include his wife, Mary Mott Jones of Gainesville; two daughters, Vicky Wright of Tallahassee and Ebie Pons of Ocala; one son, Doug Jones of Nashville, Tenn.; two brothers, Leon Jones of Gainesville and Carl Jones of Newberry; one sister, Judy Jones Durrance of Newberry; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Willis Clinton 'W.C.' Keen Sr.
MAYO -- Willis Clinton "W.C." Keen Sr. of Mayo died Saturday at North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville. He was 74.
Mr. Keen was a native of Lafayette County and lived most of his life in Mayo. He was a ranger with the state Division of Forestry, an Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, a member of New Hope Baptist Church and an ordained deacon at Brewer Lake Baptist Church in Day.
Mr. Keen was preceded in death by a son, James Houston Keen. Survivors include his wife, Lorene Keen of Mayo; one son, Clinton Keen of Mayo; one stepson, Marcus Calhoun of Mayo; one stepdaughter, Michelle Calhoun of Santa Monica, Calif.; four sisters, Lessie Revels, Stella Sessions and Eula Massey, all of Mayo, and Irene Priddy of Richmond, Va.; and seven grandchildren.
Lucien S. Sykes III
Lucien S. Sykes III of Gainesville died Saturday in Gainesville. He was 75.
Mr. Sykes was born in Thomasville, Ga., and moved to Gainesville in 1948 from Bainbridge, Ga. He was operations manager for Florida Rock before retiring in 1993.
He attended the Suwannee Military Academy, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, was awarded the Purple Heart and was past president of the Gainesville Boat Club. Hobbies included boating, fishing and woodworking. He was a Methodist.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Billie Bob Sykes of Gainesville; two daughters, Patricia Massimillo and Susan Jones, both of Gainesville; two sons, Lucien S. "Chip" Sykes IV and Robert Sykes, both of Gainesville; one sister, Eleanor Hindery of Alachua; and nine grandchildren.
Willie Battles
WILLISTON -- Willie Battles, a lifelong resident of Williston, died Sunday at Nature Coast Hospital following an extended illness. He was 97.
Mr. Battles was a retired mechanic and a member of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Williston.
He was preceded in death by two daughters, Lessie M. Erison and Willie M. Thomas.
Survivors include his wife, Inez Battles of Williston; a daughter, Aretha B. Lee of Williston; two sons, William Battles and Alfred Battles, both of Williston; three stepdaughters, JoAnn Sams of St. Petersburg, Betty Lois Stocklin of Miami and Carolyn Brown of Williston; five stepsons, Butler Hagans of Dunnellon, Jimmie Brown of Winter Park, and Daniel Brown, Jerome Brown and Alphonso Brown, all of Williston; a sister, Mariah Thomas of Williston; 39 grandchildren; and a host of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Reba Amanda DeSha
WALDO -- Reba Amanda DeSha, a longtime resident of Waldo, died Tuesday at BrookeWood Nursing Center in Starke. She was 93.
Mrs. DeSha was a homemaker. She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Waldo, where she served as a treasurer for many years.
Survivors include a son, Bill DeSha of Waldo; a sister, Elaine Cowan of Milledgeville, Ga.; and two grandchildren.
Ruth M. Harden
Ruth M. Harden of Gainesville died Monday at Palm Garden Nursing Home. She was 81.
Mrs. Harden was born in Bronson and moved to Gainesville in 1937.
She was a homemaker and a member of Carol Estates Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her husband, J.L. Harden; and a daughter, Celeta Thomas.
Survivors include a sister, Mary Bishop of Gainesville; five grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and six great-great-grandchildren.
Walter Harold Herrin
ALACHUA -- Walter Harold Herrin died Wednesday at his residence in Alachua. He was 53.
Mr. Herrin was born in Hatiesburg, Miss., and moved to Alachua from Verona, Ky., three years ago.
He was a construction worker and a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He was a member of the Forest Grove Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Glenda J. Herrin of Alachua; four daughters, Joyce Renee Carroll and Teresa Elaine Roane, both of High Springs, Katrina Lynn Smith of Bronson, and Tonya Elaine Bowman of Warsaw, Ky.; three sons, Christopher Allen Fortson of Fort Stewart, Ga., William Scott Fortson of Alachua and James Mathew Herrin of Bronson; a sister, Jimmie Mock of Lake Park, Ga.; four brothers, William C. Herrin and Donald R. Herrin, both of Lake Park, Ga., and Johnny L. Herrin and Gerald A. Herrin, both of Valdosta, Ga.; and 13 grandchildren.
Mamie L. Jones
Mamie L. Jones of Gainesville died Monday at North Florida Special Care Center following an extended illness. She was 79.
Mrs. Jones was born in Bronson and moved to Gainesville 70 years ago. She was a homemaker and a member of the Church of God by Faith.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Clifford Jones; and a son, Moses Fleming.
Survivors include a daughter, Gertrude Dix of Gainesville; a son, Issac Jones of Gainesville; two sisters, Ruthie Hayes and Bertha Hayes, both of Middleburg; a brother, Clarence Brown of Lake Butler; and nine grandchildren.
Clemens M. Kaufman
Clemens M. Kaufman died Tuesday at his residence in Gainesville. He was 90.
Mr. Kaufman was born in Moundridge, Kan., and moved to Gainesville from Raleigh, N.C., in 1951.
He was a retired professor of forestry at the University of Florida. He received his doctorate from the University of Minnesota.
He was a former chairman of the Gainesville District Boy Scouts of America, a past president of the Gainesville Rose Society and the Retired Faculty from UF. He also was a member of Rotary International, Xi Sigma Pi, Society of American Foresters, Sigma Pi, Florida Forestry Association, American Men of Science and Who's Who in the South and Southeast, and University United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Alice Kaufman of Gainesville; two daughters, Joan Pray of Tallahassee and Sandra Parenteau of Newberry; a son, Randy Kaufman of Archer; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Edgar Malcolm Lewis
BROOKER -- Edgar Malcolm Lewis, a lifelong resident of Brooker, died Wednesday at Shands at AGH. He was 85.
Mr. Lewis was the owner and operator of a timber logging business and a cattle farm. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He received his education through the Bradford County school system.
Mr. Lewis was a 32nd degree Mason, a member of the Morocco Shrine Temple and the Pine Hill Masonic Lodge No. 9. He was the founder of the Clayno Hunting Club. He was preceded in death by a son, John D. Lewis.
Survivors include his wife, Marjorie T. Lewis of Brooker; three daughters, Sharon Holloway of Fernandina Beach, Kathy Hauger of Keystone Heights and Martha Gayle Holmes of Worthington Springs; a son, Eddie Lewis of Graham; a sister, Iva Mae Lewis of Gainesville; 11 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Javon Kobla Lovett
ARCHER -- Javon Kobla "Scoobie" Lovett of Archer died in an automobile accident Friday. He was 19.
Mr. Lovett was born in Oxnard, Calif., and lived in Archer for most of his life. He attended Newberry High School and was affiliated with the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Survivors include his mother, Theodora Bernat Davis of Paducah, Ky.; his father, James Lovett of Archer; two sisters, Seraphina Lovett of Sima, Calif., and Tiffany Lovett of Paducah, Ky.; two brothers, Nathaniel Lovett and Zirdrazieyal Davis, both of Paducah, Ky.; and his grandparents, Mary C. Lovett and Arthur Lovett Sr. of Williston and Stanislaus Bernat and Lydia Bernat of Germany.
