Tony Lenard Green
WALDO -- Tony Lenard Green, a lifelong resident of Waldo, died at his job site Jan. 25 following a sudden illness. He was 35.
Mr. Green was a sheet metal mechanic at Ray's Metal Works.
He was a Baptist.
Survivors include his companion, LaTonja Aiken of Waldo; four daughters, Fontella Green of Gainesville, Britanny Green, Nicrisha Green and Tonesha Green, all of Starke; three sons, Terrell Green of Starke and Tony Green Jr. and Detron Green, both of Waldo; his mother, Mary Hayes Phillips of Starke; his father, Vertince Green II of Starke; four sisters, Wanda Hudson of Gainesville, Jackie Green of Waldo and Tasha Green and Latoya Wilkerson, both of Hawthorne; a brother, Vertince Green III of Waldo; and his grandmother, Mary Green of Waldo.
William Ernest Hamer
William Ernest Hamer of Sun City Center died at his home Monday. He was 73.
Mr. Hamer was born in Clawson, Mich., and moved to Sun City Center from Chiefland three years ago.
He was an officer manager with Burnel Inc.
Mr. Hamer served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Survivors include two daughters, Debra Kay Lewis of Bangor, Maine, and Cynthia Ann Wilkins of Ocklawaha; two sons, James Ernest of Orange Park and William Charles of Williston; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Jessie M. Houston
Jessie M. Houston of Gainesville died Jan. 25 at Shands at AGH following a brief illness. She was 79.
Mrs. Houston was born in Jonesville and moved to Gainesville 51 years ago.
She worked in the food service industry.
She was a member of Friendship Baptist Church, where she served on the Usher Board and the Mother's Board.
Survivors include her husband, Charlie Houston of Gainesville; a son, Alonzo Perry of Columbus, S.C.; two sisters, Hazel B. Hunt of Jonesville and Octavia Palmore of Satellite Beach; two brothers, Edell Turner and Nathaniel Turner, both of Gainesville; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Joan Conerly Hunter
Joan Conerly Hunter of Gainesville died Monday at the Hospice House of Gainesville. She was 91.
Mrs. Hunter was born in Lumberton, Miss., and moved to Gainesville in 1947.
She was a retired Alachua County school teacher and a member of the Retired Teachers Association of Florida.
She was a Christian Scientist.
Mrs. Hunter was preceded in death by her husband, Dwight Hunter, who died in 1999.
Survivors include a daughter, Marion H. Wilson of Gainesville; a son, William D. Hunter of Tallahassee; a brother, Paul Conerly of Plantation; and four grandchildren.
Expressions of sympathy may be made as donations to Hospice of North Central Florida.
Lee Andrew Johnson Sr.
GROVE PARK -- Lee Andrew Johnson Sr., a lifelong resident of Grove Park, died Tuesday at Shands at AGH. He was 67.
Mr. Johnson was a retired city of Gainesville Public Works Department employee.
He was a member of St. Peter Full Gospel Baptist Church in Grove Park, where he served as deacon and chairman of the Deacon Board.
Survivors include his wife, Janie S. Johnson of Grove Park; two daughters, Sonya Diggs of Atlanta and Missy DeCasto of Grove Park; five sons, Bennett Johnson and Lee A. Johnson Jr., both of Grove Park, Kenneth Bradley, Nathaniel Bryant and Eric Bryant, all of Atlanta; four sisters, Louise Johnson, Nellie Gates, Fannie Johnson and Nancy Johnson, all of Grove Park; a brother, Matthew Johnson of Gainesville; and nine grandchildren.
Clarence W. Lang
Clarence W. "Shorty" Lang of St. Petersburg died Jan. 22 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St. Petersburg. He was 75.
Mr. Lang was born in Boyd and moved to St. Petersburg from Gainesville many years ago.
He was a truck driver with BFI, retiring after 31 years of service.
He received the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Ribbon and the American Theater Ribbon for his service in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Mr. Lang was a Baptist.
He played baseball in the Negro League in the early 1960s in Gainesville.
Survivors include his wife, Irene Lang of St. Petersburg; nine daughters, Vivian Lang, Doris Lang Harris, Shirley Ann Lang, Gail Lang and Betty Joyce Ward, all of Gainesville, Viva Lois Lang and Bertha Lee Watts, both of St. Petersburg, Helen Brown of San Diego and Gwendolyn Baker of Atlanta; a son, Clarence Lang Jr. of Gainesville; two sisters, Dorothy Lang and Bertha Sheppard, both of St. Petersburg; seven brothers, Ernest Lang and Frank Lang and James Alderman, all of St. Petersburg, Wallace Lang of Plainesfield, N.J., Ralph Alderman and Leroy Alderman, both of Largo, and L.C. Lang of Gainesville; 21 grandchildren; and 30 great- grandchildren.
James Simmons
TRENTON -- James "Johnny" Simmons of Trenton died Tuesday in Archer. He was 53.
Mr. Simmons was born in Ocala and moved to Trenton 26 years ago.
He was an electrician and a Baptist. Mr. Simmons served in the U.S. Army.
Survivors include his wife, Sandra Simmons of Trenton; two daughters, Peggy Gourley of High Springs and Paula Mathis Simmons of South Carolina; two stepdaughters, Betty Kinder of Archer and Barbara Lomnick of Tampa; a sister, Linda Richburg of Chiefland; and nine grandchildren, Libby Langford, Manuel Langford, Shawn Shumake, Shirley Shumake, Timothy Simmons, Ashley Gourley, Cody Lovelace, Briana Miller and Kyle Hill.
Gentle Lee Williams
Gentle Lee Williams of Gainesville died Jan. 24 at Shands at AGH following a brief illness. He was 51.
Mr. Williams was born in Cordele, Ga., and moved to Gainesville from High Springs 20 years ago.
He was a laborer in the construction industry.
He graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1976.
Survivors include his wife, Jerlene Williams of Gainesville; two daughters, Felecia Walker-Andrews and Tina Walker Boyd, both of Gainesville; a son, Sammy Walker of Campville; his mother, Lula Bell Williams of High Springs; five brothers, Joseph Williams and Bobbie Williams, both of Gainesville, Willie Williams of Jackson, Ga., John Williams of Virginia and Charlie Williams of Kansas City, Mo.; and four grandchildren.
Nancy Lee Darby Akridge
LAKE BUTLER -- Nancy Lee Darby Akridge of Lake Butler died Monday in Gainesville. She was 51.
She was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church of Starke.
Survivors include a daughter, Cathy Hart of Gainesville; a son, Steven E. Akridge of Starke; her mother, Virginia F. Darby of Starke; two sisters, Phyllis Nobles of Mandarin and Virginia Johns of Starke; a brother, Mike Darby of Orange Park; and two grandchildren.
Louis Stephen DeCoursey
Louis Stephen DeCoursey of Gainesville died Feb. 4 at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center after a long illness. He was 50.
Mr. DeCoursey was born in Alachua and came here from Kings Bay, Ga., five years ago. He was a graduate of Lincoln High School and retired from the U.S. Navy after 22 years of service.
He was a member of Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church.
He is survived by his father, Ervin Williams of Alachua; his grandmother, Parthiner DeCoursey of Gainesville; two sisters and their husbands, Marilyn and Albert Marshall and Keran and Jerry Maroney, all of Phoenix, Ariz.; a brother, Moses Rollins of Phoenix; two stepbrothers, Ervin Williams Jr. and Gary Williams, both of Alachua; and one stepsister, Rose Williams of Gainesville.
Octavious Savonte Frazier
ORANGE LAKE -- Octavious Savonte Frazier, a lifelong resident of Orange Lake, died Feb. 4 at Munroe Regional Medical Center in Ocala. He was 15.
Mr. Frazier was a student.
He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Mauniter White and James Autry Sr. of Orange Lake; his father and stepmother, Robert and Susie Frazier Jr. of Gainesville; five sisters, Nakia Frazier, ReKisha Frazier, Jasheria Autry and Vanessa Autry, all of Orange Lake, and Vanessa Hutchinson of Beaufort, S.C.; and four brothers, James Autry, Javontres Autry, Jamarquios Autry and Jaquize Autry, all of Orange Lake.
Perry C. Herzeg
FOREST GROVE -- Perry C. Herzeg of Forest Grove died Thursday at his residence of a heart attack. He was 75.
He was born in Chicago and came here from Miami two years ago. He was a flight simulator and retired from Eastern Airlines after 30 years of service. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was a ham radio operator.
He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of High Springs.
He is survived by his wife, Marion Herzeg; his parents, Steven and Frances Herzeg of Arcadia, Calif.; two daughters, Kathy Vliet of Alachua and Carol Redwine of Sopchoppy; two sisters, Patricia Workman and Susan Todd, both of Arcadia, Calif; and two grandchildren, Robert and Melissa Redwine of Sopchoppy.
