Huge Marriages Search Engine!
Granville Durrance, 63, Business Owner
LAKELAND -- Mr. Granville "Goat" Durrance of Lakeland used his plumbing business to do charitable work.
Mr. Durrance died of complications from Alzheimer's disease Sunday (Nov. 21, 2004) at his home. He was 63.
Born May 15, 1941, he was a lifelong resident of Lakeland.
Mr. Durrance played football for Kathleen High School in the late 1950s. Weighing only 138 pounds, he earned the nickname "Goat" from reporters covering football games. The name stuck, his wife, V. Sue Durrance, said.
"To be so little, he was powerful, " she said. "He loved it."
In his 30s, Mr. Durrance began regularly attending church with his wife.
"He truly was a Christian man, " she said. Mr. Durrance took a mission trip to Honduras to build churches and, as owner of Durrance Plumbing, installed plumbing for local churches and families, all free of charge.
"He did a lot of charity plumbing for those who couldn't pay for it, " his wife remembers. "He just had a heart."
He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. He was a member of the American Legion, Pipe Fitters Union 624 and Harvest Assembly of God.
Mr. Durrance is survived by his wife, V. Sue Durrance; sons, Troy Durrance, Lakeland, Lance Durrance, Atlanta, Ga., Reginald Martin, Lakeland; daughters, Sherri Farris and Amanda Martin, both of Lakeland; brothers, Arnold Durrance, Tampa, Roger Durrance, Radcliff, N.Y., Clarence "Butch" Durrance, Lakeland; sisters, Sylvia Hutchinson and Sharon Durrance, both of Lakeland; sister, Rhonda Hutchinson, Lithia; two grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at Harvest Assembly of God. Services will follow at 11 a.m. at the church.
Lanier Funeral Home.
Marvin Martin, 48, Counselor
LAKELAND -- Mr. Marvin Anthony Martin worked extensively with youth, both professionally as well as on a personal level.
The retired juvenile justice counselor for the state of Florida died of kidney failure Thursday (Nov. 11, 2004) at home. He was 48.
"He liked working with children, " his wife, Marcia Martin, said. "When he came here to Florida, he coached the city Little League football team and also he helped out with the boys when they were playing sports."
Born in Washington, D.C., on March 30, 1956, he came to Lakeland from New York in 1970. Mr. Martin, who was interested in weight lifting, basketball and football, graduated from Kathleen High School.
"He loved weight lifting. When he was growing up, he played baseball, " Marcia Martin said.
Mr. Martin had worked as a juvenile justice counselor for 17 years and began his career at a private youth residential center. He later began working for the state in Pasco County.
He was an active member of New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church where he was a trustee, a member of the male chorus and the Inspirational Choir.
Mr. Martin is survived by his sons, Anthony Nesmith, Winter Haven, Mychael Martin, Tallahassee, and Gregary Harris, Lakeland; daughters, Lisha Bell, Atlanta, and Sabrina Jones, Lakeland; brothers, John Humphrey and Howard Martin, both of New York, and Tony Hall, Lakeland; sisters, Gertrude Everett, Lakeland, and Carrie Pinto, New York; and 11 grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 this evening at Charles A. Lewis Funeral Home, 609 W. Memorial Blvd. Services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, 1125 N. New York Ave.
MARY MARTIN, 81
Haines City High School
HAINES CITY -- Ms. Mary M. Martin of Haines City died of heart failure Sunday (Nov. 28, 2004) in Haines City. She was 81.
Born in Winter Haven on March 26, 1923, she was a lifelong resident. She was a secretary for Haines City High School for more than 20 years. She was a past member of First Baptist Church of Haines City.
Ms. Martin is survived by her companion, James Graham, Haines City; son, Patrick R. Martin, Lake Wales; daughter, Pamela Barber, Dundee; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild.
Visitation will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday at Oak Ridge Funeral Care, 1001 Grace Ave., Haines City. Services will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home chapel. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery in Haines City.
Memorials may be made to the Polk County Youth Ranch, 3350 State Road 60 E., Bartow, FL 33830.
VIRGINIA FRACK, 50
NEW ORLEANS -- Mrs. Virginia Grantham Frack of New Orleans, formerly of Lakeland, died of complications of sleep apnea Dec. 4, 2004. She was 50.
Born in Lakeland, she moved to New Orleans three years ago. She attended Polk Community College and Florida Southern College.
She earned her master's degree in psychology from the University of Sarasota and had been working on her doctorate. She was a member of the American Psychological Association, and Escapees Club for Full Time RVers.
Mrs. Frack is survived by her husband, Andrew Frack; daughter, Lisa R. Fritscher; sisters, Glenda Stevenson, Mary Ann Kinsey, Otto, N.C.; brother, Raymond Wesley Grantham II, Lakeland; mother, Loyce Evelyn Grantham, Lakeland.
Memorial services will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, at Living Hope Community Church, 315 Granada St., Lakeland.
Vickers, Verrette, and Dornan Funeral Home, Chalmette, La.
EARL JORDAN, 81
Harrell's Fertilizer Plant
LAKELAND -- Mr. Earl Richard Jordan of Lakeland died of heart failure Thursday (Dec. 2, 2004) at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was 81.
Born March 30, 1923, he came here from Gettysburg, Md., in 1985. He was a veteran of the Merchant Marines, serving in World War II. He was an agricultural engineer for Harrell's Fertilizer Plant. He was a member of the N.R.A.
Mr. Jordan is survived by his wife, Helda Jordan; sons, Marcus Jordan, Lakeland, Lucas Jordan, Coco Beach, Morgan Jordan, Lakeland, Raymond Jordan and Angus Jordan, both of Maryland; daughters, Hazel Adela Jordan, Germantown, Md., Gretchen Jordan, Virginia; sisters, Geraldine Elizabeth Ackerly, Sarasota.
Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Monday at Lakeland Funeral Home. Services will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Scholarship Fund at Santa Fe Catholic High School, 3110, Hwy. 92 East, Lakeland.
WILLIAM MASON, 79
P.I.E. Nationwide
HAINES CITY -- Mr. William M. "Bill" Mason of Haines City died of heart failure Saturday (Oct. 23, 2004) in Davenport. He was 79.
Born in Sodus, N.Y., on Sept. 6, 1925, he came to Haines City from Toledo, Ohio, 14 years ago. He was a truck driver for P.I.E. Nationwide and a member of the Teamsters Union. He was a Navy veteran of World War II. He was a 32nd-degree Mason, and a member of Masonic Lodge F & AM No. 291. He was past president of the Lake Region High Twelve Club No. 544.
Mr. Mason is survived by his wife, Dorothy Mason; son, George Mason, Haines City; daughters, Ann VanKouwenberg, Penefield, N.Y., Sandra Davis, Murfreesboro, Tenn.; stepson, John Davis, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; sisters, Shirley Young, Fairport, N.Y., Floy Marsfelder, Olean, N.Y.; three grandchildren; two step grandchildren.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Masonic Lodge.
Memorials can be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 3236, Lakeland, FL 33802, or the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, 1040 Woodcock Road, Orlando, FL 32803.
Oak Ridge Funeral Care, Haines City.
