RAYMOND PAUL BENDER, 73, died August 21, 2014 while cruising in the Caribbean. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and lived on North Hutchison Island coming from Mount Pocono and Easton, Pennsylvania. Ray was a U.S. Army veteran and retired from his business, Classic Design Homes, Mount Pocano, Pennsylvania. He was an avid fisherman and boater traveling to and fishing in many places such as Cuba, Bimini, Key West, Dry Tortugas and many others.

Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Pamela of North Hutchinson Island, sisters Grace Sylvester of Sebastian and Kathleen Pickard of New Jersey, brother-in-law Michael Gilotti (Angela) of Avon, Connecticut, many special nieces and nephews and his very special grand- nephew Russell Gilotti.

Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, 3375 20th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960, American Heart Association, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284 Visitation will be held on Monday, September 1, 2014 at Strunk Funeral Home from 5pm to 7 pm. Funeral services will be held at Holy Cross Church t 10:30 am on September 2, 2014. Strunk Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

GILBERT “JILL” BERRY (FOURNIER) 63 Passed August 19 2014. My wonderful wife lost a short battle with cancer. She was predeceased by her parents Robert and Erna Fournier of Livermore Falls Maine. And is survived by Nathan Berry her husband of 40 years a daughter Rebecca Berry of Vero Beach and Granddaughters, Quinn and Aubree. Brother Gerhard Fournier and wife Chris of Livermore Maine.

She Moved to Vero Beach in 2006 from Maine. Jill worked as an educator, counselor, and Retail Manager and religious education. She loved being a wife and mother and was overjoyed to be Nana. She enjoyed exploring Florida, flowers and gardening and picnics on the boat. She was a kind caring and compassionate person that affected everybody she met.

The internment will be at the South Florida National Cemetery. Strunk Funeral Home (8/27/14)

JUDY FRANCIS CRANE BROWN left this world on August 21, 2014 to be with her Heavenly Father. She loved spending time with her family and friends. She also loved to cook for her family and play computer games. She had a laugh and a smile that would light up a room. We will all miss her great sense of humor and loving ways. Judy spent many years working at Cato Fashions and was a long time member of Kings Baptist Church of Vero Beach.

She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Monroe Brown. She leaves behind her 2 daughters, Dorla Baker (Randy), and Patricia Roddenberry (Joe) as well as her son Dale Brown (Missi). Judy also leaves her grandsons, Dale, Jr., James, Joey and Kenney as well as her granddaughters, Celeste, Kristin and Heather. She also had a great granddaughter, Kaylee and great grandson, Jaylin. Judy also leaves her brother Dale Crane. Her care has been entrusted to Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home and Crematory. Please sign the online guestbook at http://www.coxgiffordseawinds.com
A celebration of her life is planned for a later date. (8/27/14)

 

FRANK deROBERTIS died on August 21, 2014, in Vero Beach, Florida. He was born Francesco Raul deRobertis in Rocca di Papa, commune of Rome, Italy, on October 25, 1923, to Gaetano Antonio deRobertis, an artist, and Michelina Maria Michelle Calderaro deRobertis. He was the youngest of seven children, having five sisters and a brother. As a young man, Frank served in the Italian navy until the German army occupied Rome. Following the American liberation of Italy and the close of World War II, he moved to Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Having a strong desire to become an American, he sailed to New York City and took a job as an accountant, and later as a financial officer with Alitalia Airlines, where he worked for over twenty years. He was naturalized as a U.S. citizen as Frank deRobertis in 1964. While based in New York, he traveled between the U.S. and Italy with Alitalia, and managed finance for Alitalia offices in 27 states and regional offices in Miami and Atlanta. In 1968, he met his wife, Patricia Rouse, who was working for Alitalia in Atlanta, and they married on August 8, 1970. Their residences and work experiences took them from Key Biscayne to Dallas, Coral Gables, Birmingham, and Atlanta, and they loved traveling the world together extensively, making nine trips to Honolulu in their first year of marriage alone. In 1984, they dedicated their lives to founding and operating an Atlanta-based business, Italian Connection, that imported fine Italian gold and jewelry. Also in the early 1980s, they adopted a rescued Bichon named Wooly, who was Frank’s constant companion and an unspoken partner in the family business until his passing in 1997.
In 2003, Frank and Pat retired together to Vero Beach, where he became a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Vero Beach. He was a member of the Grand Harbor Golf & Beach Club, and he enjoyed fishing and was an avid model sailboat operator. Throughout his life, he was a loving husband, a caring uncle, a kind and thoughtful friend, a shrewd businessman, and a well-traveled citizen of the world. He spoke five languages (Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English), read French and Italian newspapers, and was a serious reader of nonfiction, including books on travel, politics, military history, and American and European history. He was recently engrossed in biographies of Howard Hughes and Genghis Khan.

He is survived by his wife Pat of 44 years; his niece Loretta Parisi of Montreal, Canada; and his nephews: Marco Parisi of Forli, Italy; Ezio Quiriconi of San Vito Lo Capo, Italy; and Luciano Quiriconi of Rome, Italy. There will be a model sailboat regatta this fall in his honor. Lowther Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

ALLEN J. DUNN, 75, of Vero Beach, passed away August 21, 2014 at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach, FL
Mr. Dunn was a native of Baltimore, MD. Survivors include his exspouse, Mujgan “Mitzi” of Vero Beach, FL.
Arrangements are under the directions of the Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home. (8/27/14)

 

JAMES E. GIBSON, noted architect, died on August 24 at age 92. He was born in McMinnville, Oregon, earned a music degree from the University of Oregon and then joined the Army. He served as a combat infantryman in the Battle of the Bulge and the Rhine Crossing. After the war, he earned a degree in architecture from the University of Michigan. In a career spanning 60 years, Gibson rose to be Vice President of Harley, Ellington, Cowin & Stirton (now Harley, Ellington, Pierce, Yee & Associates) with commissions including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the U.S. State Department Building in Washington DC, the Henry Ford Centennial Library, and numerous other public buildings.

In 1969, he came to Florida to be the resident architect for the prestigious John’s Island community. A world recognized authority on classical Georgian architecture, Gibson went on to design homes in England and throughout the United States. His firm, Gibson and Associates, Architects, Inc. had offices in Vero Beach, Charleston SC, and San Francisco. He has been called “the Father of Vero Beach Architecture” for the numerous homes, clubs and office buildings in the area. An important supporter of the arts in his community, Gibson designed and donated the plans for Riverside Theater and the Vero Beach Museum of Art (then known as the Center for the Arts).

He also gave greatly of his time to the community, performing in the Baptist Church Messiah for 18 years as lead violin, as well as serving as president of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, the Treasure Coast Opera, and the Vero Beach Concert Association. Jim Gibson was married twice, to June Bosson Gibson and Suzan Brand Gibson. He was a loving father to three sons, Graeme, Randolph and James Gibson; his stepchildren Jay Brown, Talie Brown, Frank Brown and Susannah Kavanaugh, and his three grandchildren, Audra, Phillip and Jacob Gibson.

A memorial service will be held at St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church at 475 43rd Avenue on Saturday, August 30th, at 11 a.m. A separate gathering celebrating his life will be held at later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to “The Exchange Club of Vero Beach Scholarship Trust” in memory of James E. Gibson, c/o The Exchange Club of Vero Beach, P.O. Box 1982, Vero Beach FL, 32961. Lowther Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

LESTER E. MCANULTY, 100, died August 22, 2014 at Veta’s ALF in Sebastian. He was born in Spruce, PA and lived in Roseland since 1975 coming from Erie, PA where he retired from GE company. He was a member of St. Sebastian Catholic Church in Sebastian.
Survivors include sons, Leslye D. McAnulty, Barefoot Bay, Bryan P McAnulty of Thailand, daughters, Ida Mae Loomis and Kathleen J Masterson both of Erie, PA; 13 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren and 6 great great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Geneva Isabelle McAnulty in 2007.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 13075 US Highway 1, Sebastian, FL 32958 in memory of Lester E. McAnulty. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at St. Sebastian Catholic Church. Strunk Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

ERNEST MATTHEW SHERWIN, 94, died August 22, 2014 at Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian. Mr. Sherwin was born in Barnesboro, PA and lived in Sebastian for 35 years coming from Warren, MI. He was a truck driver for Sears for 31 years and a member of the Teamsters before his retirement in 1979. Mr. Sherwin was a member of Roseland United Methodist Church, Roseland, FL and a longtime member of their Friday Morning Prayer Breakfast. He was a 32nd Degree Mason in the Eureka Lodge 594, Warren, MI where he served as Chaplain and was a member of the Scottish Rite and Shriners.

Survivors include his daughter, Patricia Thorne of Jacksonville, FL; grandson, Jim Thorne of Jacksonville, FL; great-granddaughters, Addison Thorne and Nicole Thorne both of Jacksonville, FL and brothers, Barry Sherwin of Denver, CO and Ike Sherwin of Cleveland, OH. He was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Gladys L. Sherwin in 2001.

A memorial service will be held 11:00 a.m., Friday, September 5, 2014 at Roseland United Methodist Church with Rev. M. Anne Godbold officiating. Interment will be at a later date in Sebastian Cemetery. Strunk Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

MICHAEL H. STARCKX passed away on August 23, 2014 at the age of 70. Known as “Big Mike”, he was a long time resident of Vero Beach. He was the only child of Henri and Doris Starckx, born on May 13, 1944 in Hopkinton, MA. He moved to Vero Beach in his late teens where he began his career path by pumping gas at Stile Gas Station. He opened Indian River Auto Salvage in 1964 and quickly became a fixture in the community. He enjoyed photography, traveling and all types of car/truck races.

He is survived by his four children, Michelle Holzapfel of Vero Beach, Michael D. Starckx of Vero Beach, Laura McDonald of Golden, MS and Lisa Nesbitt of Reidsville, GA. He will be lovingly remembered as “PapPap” by his 8 grandchildren and 4 great grand-children. He is preceded in death by his wife Pamela Starckx and both parents.

There will be a memorial service held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, August 29, 2014 at Thomas S. Lowther Funeral Home.
The family asks for donations to be made to the VNA Hospice House in lieu of flowers. (8/27/14)

 

DEBRA THOMAS, 57, died August 22, 2014 at Sebastian River Medical Center in Sebastian. She was born in Framingham, Massachusetts and lived in Sebastian since 2012 coming from Fort Pierce, FL. Debra was a member of Freedom Church of Vero Beach.

Survivors include her husband, Andrew Thomas of Sebastian, mother Alice Cifizzari of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, son Matthew D’Allessandro of 29 Palms, California, daughter Jennifer Ellis (Craig) of Vero Beach, Stephanie Provencal (Dave) of North Smithfield, Rhode Island, sisters Louise Moulico of North Smithfield, Rhode Island and Marianne Staples of Mansfield, Massachusetts, grandchildren Nicole and Dave Provencal and Craig and Aubrey Ellis. She was preceded in death by her father Louis Cifizzari.

Memorial contributions may be made In lieu of flowers to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation at wwW5.komen.org A Memorial Service will be held at Freedom Church, 455 58th Avenue SW, Vero Beach, 12:00 PM on Sunday, August 31, 2014. Strunk Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

PATRICIA WOLFF, 72, of Roseland, FL died August 23, 2014 at SRMC. She was born in Blue Island, IL and lived in Roseland for 44 years coming from Oak Forest, IL. Mrs. Wolff has been employed by Farhat J. Khawaja, M.D. for 37 years. She was a member of St. Sebastian Catholic Church, Sebastian, FL; a founding member of the Roseland Volunteer Fire Department.

She is survived by her children Paula Witt (Greg) of Sebastian; Pauline Cobble of Roseland; Paul Wolff (Katie) of Roseland; Patrick Wolff (Nicole) of Kissimmee, a sister Lois Myers (Wayne), a brother Merle Bishop (Barbara); 8 grandchildren with another due Jan 2015, and 1 great grandchild. She was predeceased by her husband Paul R Wolff in 2008; a daughter Paulette, and a sister MaryLou Irby.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 am, Thursday August 28, 2014 at St Sebastian Catholic Church, Sebastian, FL. Mrs. Wolff will be transferred to Illinois for burial in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, IL In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation may be made to the American Cancer Society or any charity of your choice in her name.Sunday, August 31, 2014. Strunk Funeral Home (8/27/14)

 

RICHARD WOLFE, 75, of Vero Beach, FL, passed away August 20, 2014, at VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach, FL. Mr. Wolfe was a native of Providence, RI. Survivors include his wife, Mary and a son, Richard Wolfe of Warwixk, RI. Arrangements are under the directions of the Cox Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach, FL. A guestbook may be signed at http://www.coxgiffordseawinds.com. (8/27/14)

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