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Obituaries 4/14/22


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Douglas W. Blanford
Douglas W. Blanford passed away unexpectedly, after a short illness and with family by his side, on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at Orange Park Medical Center in Orange Park, FL. Douglas was born in Williamsport, PA, raised in the Binghamton, NY area, and resided for 20 years in Orange Park.
Douglas recently achieved an Associate Degree in Computer Science at Florida State College in Jacksonville, FL, and previously held careers in sales, driving OTR and, most recently, computer tech support at the university he attended. He enjoyed watching the Dallas Cowboys, deep sea fishing, bowling, darts, building and repairing computers, classic mopar cars, which he had owned at times in his life, and traveling to the Philippines in his later years, where he met and married his wife, Marlyn.
Douglas was preceded in death by his mother, Judith Blanford; and his uncle, Douglas Fielder, and grandfather, Willard Lewis, who both were a big influence in Doug’s early life.
Douglas is survived by daughter, Sarah DeLarco; granddaughter, Audrey Delarco; his current wife, Marlyn, of the Philippines; father, Ronald (Julie); brothers, Ronald (Stacy) and David (Molly); sister, Tammy McCarthy; aunts, Linda Andros and Ruth Niles, along with many cousins, nieces and nephews, and longtime friends, Kalvin and Kathy Shoopman, who all loved him very much.
Arrangements are entrusted to Aaron and Burney Bivens Funeral Home, 529 Kingsley Avenue, Orange Park, FL 32073, (904) 264-1233. A memorial service will be held at a future date.

Dierdre Marie Weaver Sopalski
November 25, 1960-February 26, 2022
After a long and valiant war with Breast Cancer, our mother, Dierdre Marie Weaver Sopalski, is finally resting in the arms of her Savior. She was surrounded by family and angels and welcomed into Heaven by her loving husband, George.
Mom was born to Dorothy Macri and David Weaver on November 25, 1960 in Washington D.C. Her parents later divorced and she gained two more parents, Stanley Bowie (Dorothy) and Shirley Hamilton Weaver (David). Mom grew up in Cornwall, NY with four brothers and three sisters. She graduated from Cornwall High School in Cornwall, NY in 1977.
Mom and Dad were married on September 19, 1981 at the Saint Catherine’s Catholic Church in Orange Park, Florida. They made their home in Orange Park, Florida and raised five children, Jolene, Rebecca, Erin, Timothy, and Edwin (Eddie).
In 1998, Mom and our family were baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. A year later, in honor of their 18th wedding anniversary, Mom and Dad, with their children, were sealed for all time and eternity in the Orlando Florida Temple on September 18, 1999.
During her years with cancer, she welcomed into her heart and home two sons in law and two daughters in law and 15 grandchildren. Mom’s greatest blessings were her children and grandchildren.
While going through chemo and radiation, Mom completed her associate degree in Business Administration. She then worked as a teacher’s aide for children in Special Education at Ridgeview Elementary. Prior to her baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mom played guitar and sang for mass at Saint Catherine’s. She continued her love and passion for music and sang in many choirs at church and in the community.
Mom was preceded in death by her husband of 19 years, George Sopalski; father, David Weaver; stepmother, Shirley; stepfather, Stanley Bowie, one sister, Dorothy Fricke, and two sisters in law, Connie Dunlea and Talietha Selfridge, and two granddaughters, Sarah Jane and Mary Hilda White.
She is survived by her children, Jolene (Jeremy Hartnett), Rebecca (John White), Erin, Timothy (Ronilea), and Eddie (Tiffany), 13 grandchildren, her mother, Dorothy Macri, 3 sisters and 7 sisters in law, 4 brothers and 4 brothers in law.
Interment will be held Saturday April 23rd at 3pm at the Magnolia Cemetery 1040 Kingsley Ave Orange Park, FL 32073
Memorial Service will be held following interment at 4pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 461 Blanding Blvd, Orange Park, FL 32073

John J. Diebold
John J. Diebold, 88, of Orange Park, FL passed away April 6, 2022.
Broadus-Raines Funeral Home, 501 Spring St., Green Cove Springs, FL (904) 284-4000 www.broadusraines.com

Dolores “Dee” Pratt
Dolores “Dee” Pratt age 90 of Green Cove Springs, Florida passed away peacefully on March 31, 2022. She was born on December 6, 1931, to William and Mary Katherine (Graetzer) Somppi in Bellingham, Washington. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and received a Pi Sigma Alpha political science honorary award for outstanding grades. She was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority.
Dee was married to the late James S. Pratt on December 6, 1968, for 38 years. Together they enjoyed golf and traveling. They also enjoyed spending summers in Montgomery, Vermont where she will be laid to rest.
She was passionate about her volunteer work at the Jacksonville Zoo and the Friends of the Library in Green Cove Springs. She loved singing with the Magnolia Singers and her involvement with the Magnolia Point Women’s Club, book club and bridge players.
Dee is survived by her daughter, Kathy McKeeta-Probeck and son-in-law William Rice Probeck. She is also survived by her grandchildren Kaelin and Erick Probeck.

Steven M. Belt
Steven M. Belt passed away April 4, 2022. Steve was born April 8, 1954 in Michigan to Harold and Betty Belt.
Steve proudly served 20 years in the United States Navy, retiring in 1994 as a Chief Petty Officer. He also retired after 17 years from his “second” career at Nortrop Grumman in 2021. He belonged to the American Legion Post 250 in Middleburg.
Steve is survived by his mother, Betty Belt; his wife of 17 years, Pam Belt; her children, Andie, Skeeter and Tiffany. He was the proud “PePaw” to Kade, Lilly, Faith, Ally and the apple of his eye, Rose. He is also survived by his brother, David; his sister, Cathy (John); 3 nieces and 2 nephews, and his dear friend, John.
He is preceded in death by his father, Harold Belt; and his brother, Kieth.
A graveside servicewas held at 1:00 pm, Saturday, April 16, 2022 at Long Branch Cemetery with full military honors. For any information or directions, call Leslie Padgett at 904-831-2015.
Please sign the family’s online guestbook at www.broadusraines.com
Arrangements are under the care of Broadus-Raines Funeral Home, 501 Spring St., Green Cove Springs, FL 32043. (904) 284-4000

Jonell Stanford
Jonell Stanford, age 68, was born in Union Port, Ohio on May 8th, 1953 and passed away from cancer on April 1st, 2022. Jonell was born to Edward and Janice Shields. She was the first born of 5 other siblings. (Doug, Della, Thomas, Mark and Jan). Jonell attended Churchman Business School in Easton, PA. From there, she moved from Pennsylvania to Florida and received her Associates in Nursing. Jonell was a long-time dedicated nurse to multiple hospitals and served as a nurse at The Clay County Jail in Florida.
Jonell enjoyed her family, cats and planting flowers around her home and in her garden. She will be remembered as a loving mother, sister, grandmother and friend. She is preceded in death by her loving husband, Michael Stanford and 2nd born son, Daniel Ryan Seas.
Jonell is survived by her first-born son, Chad Seas and her daughter-in-law, Donna Seas of Green Cove Springs, Florida.
A memorial service will be conducted at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please send your donations to The American Cancer Society.
Please sign the family’s online guestbook at www.broadusraines.com
Arrangements are under the care of Broadus-Raines Funeral Home, 501 Spring St., Green Cove Springs, FL 32043. (904) 284-4000.

Gerald “Jerry” A. Young
Gerald “Jerry” A. Young passed away on April 7, 2022 in Orange Park, FL. He was born in Upper Darby, PA, on March 5, 1942, to the late Marvin Oscar Young and Stella Katherine Reach Young.
Jerry was raised in suburban Pennsylvania, where he graduated high school and Temple University. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1965 and would spend summers in Pensacola as an Officer Candidate and his winters at college. The Navy encouraged him to stay in college as long as he could afford, so he obtained another degree at the University of Dayton in Dayton, OH.
His naval career spanned 22 years, with service in Vietnam and around the northern hemisphere. His travels over the earth ranged from Vietnam in the west to Turkey in the east, from the equator in the south to the Artic Circle in the north. He saw pyramids along the Nile and watched the sunrise from the tropic isle. Jerry served at NAS Jacksonville from 1980-1984 and retired from the Navy in 1987 as a Lieutenant Commander, receiving the Air Medal and Defense Meritorious Service Medal during his career.
In 1989, he was hired to assume the duties as the Bio-Environmental Services Division’s emergency responder. During his employment with the city of Jacksonville, he served in the following positions, Emergency Response supervisor from 1989-1998, responding to emergency callouts by the Fire Department from 1989-2002, member of the Emergency Operations Center for Hurricane Planning and Staffing from 1990-2007, member of the Local Planning Committee for the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council from 1990-2007, member of the Restoration Advisory Board at NAS Jacksonville, where he represented the City of Jacksonville from 1989-2007 and was site manager in the Petroleum Cleanup Activity from 1998-2007.
Jerry held a chemical engineer’s license, loved to play golf and was a member of Orange Park United Methodist Church, where he served as head usher and usher.
He was preceded in death by his parents, daughter, Jennifer Ann Young, and grandparents.
Jerry is survived his wife, Dayle Young; son, Michael Timothy Gross (Nicolle Summerton-Gross); grandchildren, Allison Gross, Ashley Gross and Sadie Wilkins, and many friends.
A service was held Wednesday, April 13, 2022, Aaron and Burney Bivens Funeral Home, 529 Kingsley Avenue, Orange Park, FL 32073, (904) 264-1233 served the family.