OBITUARIES

May 18, 2023

Barbara Ross Keith, age 88, went home to be with the Lord on May 18, 2023. A funeral service for Barbara will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at Fellowship Baptist Church in Lakeland, Florida, with Dr. Richard Piatt officiating. Interment will follow at the Bethel Baptist Church cemetery at 3125 W. Socrum Loop Road...

May 18, 2023

Colleen Mary Atwater, a devoted wife, mother, and compassionate member of the Lakeland community, passed away on Thursday, May 18, 2023, at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida. She was 57 years old.

Colleen was born in Newark, New Jersey, to Joseph A. Miller and Kathleen M. Miller (Maiden Kathleen Kelly). She shared 32 wonderful...

May 14, 2023

Susan Dianne Dawson, age 67, born in Bainbridge Ga and raised in Lakeland FL passed away due to Covid on May 14, 2023, at Bartow Regional Hospital. Born on June 2, 1954, Susan was born to the late Gwen Kelly and Preston Kelly.

Susan, who was better known as Dianne, was a beautiful bright soul....

May 11, 2023

May 11, 2023

Patricia Ann Reynolds, 85, lifelong Lakeland, Florida resident Patricia Ann (Bradley) Reynolds, passed away Thursday, May 11, 2023, at Lakeland Regional Medical Health Center.

Mrs. Reynolds was born on May 13, 1937, to Rufus and Celestia (Pat) Bradley. After her parents’ divorce she lived with her mother and maternal grandmother. Despite the end...

May 6, 2023

Gertrude Elizabeth “Trudi” Skiff was born on November 25, 1934, in Gloucester NJ. She grew up in a close-knit family with parents, Theodore and Rose Matthiessen, and three sisters: Marge, Rose, and Joan. Her paternal grandparents resided in Germany and maternal grandparents shared the Matthiesen home. Trudi played piano and cello in her youth.

She...

May 4, 2023

Robert “Mac” MacDowell Boulware, Jr., 84, passed away on Thursday, May 4, 2023, at Brookdale Senior Living. Born November 4, 1938, in Leesburg, Florida, he was the son of the late Robert MacDowell Boulware, Sr., and Laura Hobbs Boulware. He was also preceded in death by his sister, Beverly Henry.

Mac retired from the Polk...

May 4, 2023

On May 4, 2023, God gently took one of his Earth Angels to heaven.

Lisa Deanne Melton went home after serving her Jesus for 60 years on this earth.

The family she influenced so profoundly, with her love, her spirit of good, her forgiveness of anyone unkind to her,...

May 4, 2023

Kaitlyn Suzanne Reynolds, 31, passed away Thursday, May 4, 2023, at Lakeland Regional Medical Health Center. Katie was a lifelong resident of Lakeland.

Miss Reynolds was born October 18, 1991, to Alan and Susan Reynolds. She was a 2-D Art Teacher for the Polk County School Board since March 2015 working at McLaughlin...

May 2, 2023

Edna Mae Ayotte, 79 of Lakeland passed away on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. She was born on November 16, 1943, in Kissimmee, FL to the late Oscar Virgil Rice and Lera Mae Rice.

She was preceded in death by her twin brother, Oscar Edward Rice.

Edna was employed for...

May 1, 2023

Roxanne Delores McQuillen passed away on May 1, 2023, at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. Roxanne was born in Johnstown, PA on December 18, 1944. She was a long-time member of First United Methodist Church of Lakeland.

Roxanne graduated from Central Cambria High School in 1962 and received her BA in Music Education...

Apr 30, 2023

Geraldine Lancaster Fraker (Gerry) passed away on April 30, 2023, at 84, in Lakeland, Florida. She was born on August 15, 1938, in Spartanburg, SC, to John Lee Lancaster Jr and Dorothy Bulman Lancaster.

Gerry was a devoted elementary teacher with a gift for helping children with learning disabilities. She was known for her patience...

Apr 27, 2023

On April 27, 2023, Joan A. Anderson of Lakeland, FI, loving wife of James D Anderson (Jim),

passed away at the age of 95. Joan was born on April 5, 1928, in Muskegon, Michigan, to Raymond and Kathreen Ammerman.

She graduated from Lakeland High School,

Joan is preceded in...

Apr 27, 2023

Apr 27, 2023

Michael Candler Mullens, Jr., 38, of Lakeland, Florida passed away on April 27, 2023, at home.

Born in Lakeland to Kathy and Mike Mullens on March 18, 1985, Michael was a 2003 graduate of Lakeland High School, where he was an active participant in sports and church activities at First Presbyterian Church. He continued his...

Apr 25, 2023

Apr 22, 2023

Carrie Elizabeth Gard, 42, of Lakeland, passed away on April 22nd, 2023, surrounded by her family. Carrie was born on September 20th, 1980, to David and Carol Digby in Atlanta, Georgia. After Carrie graduated from Shiloh High School in 1998, she went on to study Criminal Justice at Georgia Southern College. Carrie moved to Lakeland, FL to start her...

Apr 19, 2023

George Randall Lovering passed away at his home on April 19, 2023, surrounded by his family. Randall was born on July 24, 1937, in Lakeland, Florida.

He was proceeded in death by his beloved mother, Gertrude Foshee Lovering, his father, George Blacksher Lovering, and his sister, Dixie Rebecca Lovering.

Randall is...

Apr 19, 2023

On April 19, 2023, David Anderson, of Lakeland, FL, loving husband of Mary Lib Anderson (Mary E), passed away at the age of 70. David was born on October 13, 1952, in Lakeland to Joan and Jim Anderson.

He graduated from Lakeland High School and USF.

David is survived by his...

Apr 18, 2023

The Reverend Dr. Richard Rome (Dick) Burnette, Jr. of Lakeland, Florida died in his sleep on Tuesday, April 18th, 2023, at the age of 95. He was born in Bowling Green, Virginia to Reverend Richard R Burnett and Mary Allen Lee Burnette, the first of their three children. He was married to Carol Ravndal Burnette for 66 years. A...