Communication Builds Our Community
Communication Builds Our Community
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Lake Wales residents Mike and Irene Spotswood produce Cup of Joe Radio show, a nationally- syndicated radio show aimed at veterans with "the healing power of music." The show is intended to ease the symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome, or PTSD, that continues to affect veterans who experienced the stresses and horrors of war. Mike, who is a Marine who did two tours in over the course of 20 months in Vietnam, and Irene, a former nurse, say their two-hour radio show has...
Gary Eugene Jones of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, July 16, 2024 at his residence. He was born October 4, 1945 in Saginaw, Michigan to the late Eugene and Eva Jones; he moved to Lake Wales from Saint Petersburg in 1994. Before retirement, Gary was a engineer for GTE then Verizon. He also worked at CitroSucco for 10 years and for the Florida Fish and Game Commission. He served with the United States Navy under the “Seabees” during the Vietnam War. Gary was a hard worker and a...
Farewell to Walter Elder Ferguson III, a gallant human being, who passed away at age 72 on April 26, 2024, of natural causes. A Celebration of Life will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 8 at Lake Howard Heights, 650 North Lake Howard, Winter Haven, presented by his family and classmates. Born on Feb. 26, 1952, with cerebral palsy, a lifelong condition that affects movement and coordination, Ferguson lived an extraordinary life. When his mother died in a car accident...
Dean Burbank, age 80, passed away April 30, 2024, at Bartow Regional Medical Center. He was born on April 30, 1944, in Pleasantville, IA to the late Russel Merton Burbank & Mary Evelyn Burbank. He graduated from Pleasantville High School in 1962, St. Bernard College in 1967 with a BA in Mathematics and University of Alabama in 1979 with a MS in Applied Mathematics. He was a United States Air Force Veteran serving as a B52 Navigator Bombardier in Vietnam. He received the...
Honoring those who have served to defend is a longstanding tradition in nations around the world, no less so in the United States. The freedoms we enjoy, so easily eroded from within, were also defended from foreign enemies by those who have donned the uniforms of our five branches of service. March 31 marks the end of what is considered by many the saddest of America's military efforts. Tens of thousands died in the futile conflict, both military and civilian. Opposition to...
March 31, 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the final withdrawal of US military forces from Vietnam, ending more than a decade of fighting in support of the government of South Vietnam. At its peak in the late 1960's more than 500,000 Americans were serving in-country, and a million others were working in support of the massive effort. Some 282,000 US and allied forces were killed in the fighting, many soldiers of the Army of Vietnam. An estimate by the Department of Defense...
Wayne P. Miller of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, September 6, 2022 at Somers Hospice House in Sebring. He was born October 31, 1945 in San Francisco, California to the late Clarence and Natalie Miller; he moved to Lake Wales in 2005. Wayne was a retired Factory Representative for 3M and was a member of First United Methodist Church of Lake Wales. He was a veteran of the United States Army who served in Vietnam. He enjoyed surfing and collecting old cars. Wayne was a fan of...
A nationally-syndicated and web-streamed radio show aimed at veterans originates in a Lake Wales for most of the year. Local residents Mike and Irene Spotswood record the "Cup of Joe Radio" show, often with Mike's service dog Truman at their feet. Mike, a Marine who did two tours in Vietnam over the course of 19 months, and Irene, a former nurse say their two-hour radio show is "80% music, 20% information." Their mission statement is "The healing power of music." Their show...
Hans Mathes, 69, passed away Thursday, January 27, 2022. He was born December 27, 1952 in Liverpool, England. Hans served as a Medic in the US Navy during Vietnam. He was Catholic. He was a Salesman for Huston Motors for 27 years. He is survived by his wife Mary Ann Mathes of Winter Haven, son Justin Hill & wife Juliana, two step daughters, Angela Newell & husband Scott and Carrie Porterfield & husband Robbie. Brother Michael Mathes, two sisters Sheri Barksdale & husband...
William V. "Sonny" Gibson, Jr. passed away on Thursday, December 30, 2021 in Bartow. Born Sept. 22, 1930 in Bartow, Sonny was the son of the late William V. Gibson, Sr. and Mary Lee (Monzingo) Gibson. In 1947 at age 17, he joined the Army Air Forces and later transferred to the paratroopers. He was with the Rangers in the Korean War and received a Purple Heart after being wounded in a rocket attack. He then went on to instruct at jump school at Fort Bragg, NC with the 82nd...
Russell Anthony Robertson of Jacksonville passed away Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at his residence. He was born October 22, 1946 in Washington D.C. to the late Russell and Bertha Robertson, Sr.; he moved to Jacksonville from Lake Wales 47 years ago. Russell was a retired Chief Petty Officer (E-8) for the United States Navy and served in Vietnam from 1971 until 1973. After the military, he worked as a truck driver for Hartland Express, traveling all over the country. He was an...
Donald Earle Sheppard, 77, of Lakeland, Florida, passed away Thursday, October 14, 2021, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 33 years, Ann (Muffet) Sheppard, his brother, David Sheppard, and his parents, Albert John and Jennie Deborah Moore Sheppard, and stepfather Omar “Pops” Williams. Don is survived by his daughters, Teresa Kauf Booth of Woburn, Massachusetts, and Trinity Sheppard Herrera (Julio) of Jacksonville, Florida, his...
Robert William Langston Willett passed on Oct 16, 2021. His wife and daughter, three brothers and two sisters-in-law were with him. He was a professor at the University of Georgia in Journalism for 30+ years. A Captain in the US Army and a Vietnam veteran with a purple heart. He enjoyed mountain climbing and some of his favorites were Mount Kilimanjaro, the Matterhorn, and he was able to go past the base camp at Mount Everest. Willett was an advertising professor emeritus and...
Mary Louise (Lou) Dailey, 83, passed away on Oct 18, 2021, at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. The family will hold a memorial service on Sunday, Oct. 24, at 2 PM EST at Whidden-McLean Funeral Home on 650 East Main St., Bartow, FL, with the burial immediately following at Wildwood Cemetery in Bartow. Mary was born Sept. 20, 1938, in Fairmont, WV, to her late parents Hinton Noble and Edna Violet (Merrifield) Peirce. The youngest of eight children, she grew up in a busy...
Ora "Oz" Caldwell of Lake Wales passed away September 9th due to complications of Covid-19. Known to many by his nickname of "the Great One," Caldwell was a graduate of West Point and served for many years in the office of the Public Defender in Polk County. He was known to many in the Lake Wales area as a man of generous spirit and manner. "He was an officer and a gentleman," said former Public Defender Marion Moorman. "He was a fantastic lawyer, a true trial lawyer who had...
Ora "Oz" Oscar Caldwell, age 83, of Lake Wales passed away on September 9th, 2021 at 2:20pm at Advent Health in Davenport, Florida from respiratory complications due to Covid 19. Oz was born on October 19, 1937 in Lake Wales Florida. Oz spent his formative years on his father's dairy farm. He would often speak of these times with great fondness of the cowboys and hard lifestyles of the post-Great Depression period in Central Florida that he witnessed firsthand. During this...
Ronald N. Mathias passed away Monday, September 20, 2021 at Good Shepherd Hospice in Auburndale. He was born August 20, 1955 in Tampa. He was a veteran of the United States Army serving as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. Ronald is survived by his daughter, Sandra Harris (Jesus Vargas) of Lake Wales; sister, Cathy McKinley of Tampa; brother, Ricky Adams of Lakeland; and grandchildren, Kiarra Lucas, Alexandria Reaves, and Dylan Becton. A visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m....
Rev. Canon Timothy Joel Shaw, 76 Reverend Canon Timothy Joel Shaw of Winter Haven passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at Winter Haven at the age of 76. He was born January 18, 1945 in Springfield, Ohio; the only child of Delmas and Rheba Shaw. He enlisted in the United States Navy and served as a hospital corpsman on the USS Okinawa and others during the Vietnam War. He worked as a surgical technician at Winter Haven Hospital before attending Saint Leo...
Tony White- Beloved husband, father, brother and papa, embarked upon his last adventure as he passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on September 10, 2021. Tony loved a great adventure and looked forward to setting out to blaze new trails! His first adventure was at 9 months old when he voyaged upon the Queen Mary to the United States. He was born on July 13, 1945, in London, England. From there, Tony and his family found themselves in the sunshine state and settle in...
Lamar Goff, 76, of Lake Wales passed away Monday, Aug. 23, 2021 at his residence. He was born September 8, 1944 in Lake Wales, to the late Daniel and Margaret Goff. Lamar was a retired Police Officer for the Frostproof Police Department and was a veteran of the United States Army, serving in Vietnam. He enjoyed fishing and riding motorcycles. Lamar was an artist and was known for building clocks. Lamar is survived by his wife of 53 years, Susie Goff; daughters, Lisa Kendrick and husband Layton of Lakeland, and Christie Maerke...
Some viewed his email as a threat to withhold future funding, but Henry McCance says that's not what he intended. The largest donor to Lake Wales Charter schools, McCance says he just wants officials to know that he expects them to show "leadership" to ensure students can safely attend school in-person this year. His recommendation: Mandatory vaccines for all teachers and staff and mandatory masks for students, teachers and staff. "I feel strongly enough about these issues...
Danny W. Hare, 75, of Lake Wales passed away Saturday, July 3, 2021 at Vitas Inpatient Unit at AdventHealth Lake Wales. He was born August 24, 1945 in Portsmouth, VA to the late Rufus Hare and Mary Elizabeth Marshall; he came to Lake Wales in 2005 from Homestead. He was retired from the U.S. Air Force and served in Vietnam. He enjoyed fishing, shooting his guns, classic cars and was always tinkering with cars, boats or whatever needed fixing. Dan was preceded in death by his wife, Yvonne Hare; brother, Michael Marshall; and...
John Roberts, 80, of Lake Wales passed away Wednesday, March 31, 2021 at Somers Hospice House. He was born March 26, 1941 in Miami to the late Edward and Naomi Roberts; he moved to Lake Wales from Indiana 12 years ago. He was a retired refrigeration tradesman and was a veteran of the United States Navy, serving during the Vietnam era. John was a member of the VFW Post 4289 of Winter Haven and was the Past Vice Commander for the VFW Post 2420 in Lake Wales. He was preceded in...
John "Don" Sims, 82, of Lake Wales passed away Sunday, March 28, 2021 at Forsythe Hospice House in Auburndale. He was born January 22, 1939 in Atlanta, GA to the late John Sims and Eunice Sims; he moved to Lake Wales from Tampa in 1972. Don was a retired human resources director at Florida's Natural Growers, Inc., and was a member of First Baptist Church of Lake Wales. He served in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam era for eight years. Don was a Past President of...
Larry Boyce Howell, 73, of Lake Wales passed away Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at Advent Health Lake Wales. He was born July 14, 1947 in Lake Wales to the late Samuel and Ruth Howell and was a lifelong resident of Lake Wales. Larry was a retired Top Bin Operator for Alcoma and was a Veteran of the United States Army, serving in Vietnam. He was a member of the Golfview Church of God, and enjoyed playing golf and fishing. Larry is survived by his wife of 47 years, Gail Howell; daughters, Melissa Hickman and husband Chris of Enigma,...
