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BRADY WIMBERLY, 43
Truck Driver
HOMELAND -- Mr. Brady Alan Wimberly of Homeland, a native of Bartow, died of heart failure Friday (April 22, 2005) at home. He was 43.
Born in Bartow on Oct. 31, 1961, he was a longtime resident of Homeland. He was a truck driver. He was a member of Homeland First Baptist Church.
Mr. Wimberly is survived by his wife, Glenda Wimberly; son, Harley Wimberly, Homeland; father, Edward Wimberly, Homeland; mother, Bonnie Weldon, Bartow; brother, Edward Wimberly Jr., Bartow; sister, Tina Chumney, Bartow; grandmothers, Elizabeth Wimberly, Lakeland, Lorraine Willis, Ocala; four grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church of Homeland, 208 Church St., Homeland.
Whidden-McLean Funeral Home, Bartow.
Robert Booker, 27, Student
LAKELAND -- Mr. Robert "Matt" Booker was preparing to graduate with a doctorate in pharmacy from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and was planning to wed his fiancee of two years.
"In May he would have walked the line as Dr. Robert M. Booker, " said his father, Michael Booker of Lakeland. "My father died when I was 6, and I worked my way through college. He told me just this last year, `Dad, your father never got to see you graduate from college. I'm going to make sure that you see me, and I'm going to be the first doctor in the Booker family.' "
Mr. Booker died of an abdominal aneurysm Friday (Feb. 18, 2005) in Plantation. He was 27.
The lifelong Lakeland resident was born May 9, 1977, and attended Padgett Elementary School where he was in the Alpha program for gifted students. He attended Lake Gibson Middle School and graduated from Lake Gibson High School in 1995. Mr. Booker attended Hillsborough Community College for five years, changing his major three times before the influence of a physician/pharmacist at Lakeland Regional Medical Center inspired him to study pharmacy. After being accepted into the program at Nova Southeastern in 2000, Mr. Booker met his future fiancee, who was pursuing the same degree at the university.
"Last May, she graduated and she passed her boards sometime during the summer. He would laugh and say, `We're not getting married until I'm a doctor, ' " Michael Booker said.
"He was one of those types of people that once you met him, you never forget him. Everybody seemed to love him. He lived every day like it was his last day. He had an incredible sense of humor, a subtle sense of humor. He preferred Monty Python to George Carlin."
He was a sports enthusiast, and particularly liked hockey. He had an excellent memory for facts and was able to quote stats from the past, his father said.
In addition to his father, Michael Booker, Mr. Booker is survived by his mother, Janice Booker, Lakeland; sister, Leanne Booker, Lakeland; maternal grandfather, Paul Barlow, Zephyrhills; fiancee, Marie Freedman, Orlando.
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Lake Gibson United Methodist Church, 424 W. Daughtery Road. Services will follow at 6 p.m. at the church.
Memorials may be made to Lakeland Regional Medical Center Auxiliary Scholarship, 1324 Lakeland Hills Blvd., Lakeland, FL 33805.
Heath Funeral Chapel.
BENJAMIN JONES, 77
Landscaper
EATON PARK -- Mr. Benjamin Jones of Eaton Park died of heart failure Thursday (Oct. 7, 2004) at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was 77.
He was born in Medulla. He was a landscaper and laborer. He was a member of Mount Olive F.W.B. Church in Eaton Park.
Mr. Jones is survived by his son, Benjamin Jones Jr., Lakeland; daughters, Parthenia Jones McNeil, Opal Day, Faye Borders, all of Lakeland; brothers, Enoch Jones, Willie Jones, both of Medulla, Curtis Jones, Freeport, Texas, Samuel Jones, Lutz, Warren Hawthorne, Lakeland; sisters, Annie Watson, Medulla, Hazel Hawthorne, Lake Placid, Juanita Baldwin, Lakeland; six grandchildren; 14 great grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at New Jerusalem M.B. Church. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will be in Medulla Cemetery.
Coney Funeral Parlor Inc., Lakeland.
Misty Simmons, 21
LAKELAND -- Ms. Misty Lynn Simmons was optimistic that she would someday be home and well enough from her fight with cancer to take care of her baby son, Corey, who is now 16 months old.
"She had just gotten engaged on Christmas. She was waiting to get out of the hospital to get with our pastor and set a date, " said her mother, Wanda Hawthorne of Lakeland.
Ms. Simmions, a lifelong Polk County resident, died Sunday (Jan. 9, 2005) at Lakeland Regional Medical Center after a 17-month battle with cancer. She was 21.
Born in Bartow on April 10, 1983, she attended Griffin Elementary School, and Kathleen middle and high schools, where she was involved with the Future Farmers of America. She didn't graduate from high school but was looking forward to taking night classes and obtaining her GED.
She was diagnosed with cancer shortly after learning she was pregnant.
"She was very sickly. Most of the time she was in the hospital after she was diagnosed. . . . She told me a couple of times, `Mama, I'm not worried. I'm going to be OK.' She told me she was going to beat it, " Hawthorne said.
"Everybody that came in contact with her loved her. I can't tell you one enemy that she had."
Ms. Simmons was Pentecostal and a former member of Webster Memorial Baptist Church, where she was active in the youth group.
In addition to her mother, Wanda Hawthorne, Ms. Simmons is survived by her father, Craig Simmons, Zephyrhills; son, Corey Anthony Hamilton, Lakeland; fiance, Chad Hamilton, Lakeland; stepdaughter, Jezlyn Good, Lakeland; brother, Craig Simmons Jr., Alabama; sisters, Dawn Simmons, Lakeland, Patricia Crowe, Alabama.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Gentry-Morrison Northside Funeral Home. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the funeral home chapel.
DONALD PALAS, 56
Ferrer Aviation
LAKELAND -- Mr. Donald Glenn Palas of Lakeland died of injuries sustained in an aircraft accident Friday (Jan. 14, 2005) in Lakeland. He was 56.
Born on Feb. 8, 1948, he came to Lakeland from New Jersey. He worked for Ferrer Aviation. He was a Marine Corps veteran. He was a member of Edgewood Baptist Church in Lakeland.
Mr. Palas is survived by his wife, Linda Palas; sons, Timmy and Travis; daughters, Jasmyn and Jillian; parents, Glenn and la Nida Palas, Luana, Iowa; sisters, Sandy Bertenshaw, St. Louis, Patty Pritchard, Monona, Iowa, Dawn Pritchard, Des Moines, Iowa.
Services will be at noon Friday at Edgewood Baptist Church.
Lakeland Funeral Home.
JOSE MARTINEZ, 48
Watson Clinic
LAKELAND -- Dr. Jose S. "Pepe" Martinez of Lakeland died in a plane crash Friday (Jan. 14, 2005) in Lakeland. He was 48.
Born May 5, 1956, in Havanna, Ohio, Dr. Martinez came here from Winter Garden 20 years ago. He was a veteran of the Army. He worked as an internist at Watson Clinic. He was a member of the Lakeland Rotary Club and First United Methodist Church, Lakeland.
Dr. Martinez is survived by his wife, Jill Anne Johnson Martinez; daughters, Mary Anne Martinez and Robin Martinez, both of Lakeland; son, Jonathan Martinez, Lakeland; parents, Dr. Jose R. and Dr. Rosita N. Martinez, both of Lakeland; sister, "Nena" Pobjecky, Tallahassee, Dr. Charilyn Martinez, Miami.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church Sanctuary, Lakeland.
Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, 72 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801; Florida Southern College, Science Department, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland, FL 33801; or Dr. Rosita N. Martinez Scholarship Fund at Valencia Community College, P.O. Box, Orlando, FL 32802.
Heath Funeral Chapel, Lakeland.
