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CLARICE BRANNEN, 96
Homemaker
LAKELAND -- Mrs. Clarice W. Brannen of Lakeland died of heart failure Tuesday (Dec. 21, 2004) at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. She was 96.
Born in Orangeburg, S.C., on Aug. 24, 1908, Mrs. Brannen came to Lakeland from there in 1930. She was a homemaker. She was a Baptist.
Mrs. Brannen was preceded in death by her husband, Truman A. Brannen. She is survived by her son, Robert C. "Bobby" Brannen, Lakeland; daughter, Irene B. Raulerson, Okeechobee; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Lakeland Memorial Gardens.
Lanier Funeral Home, Lakeland.
J.C. ALEXANDER, 72
Publix Warehouses
LAKELAND -- Mr. J.C. Alexander of Lakeland died of lung failure Monday (Dec. 20, 2004) at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was 72.
Born in Mississippi on Oct. 19, 1932, Mr. Alexander came to Lakeland in 1969. He was a groundskeeper for Publix Warehouses.
Mr. Alexander was preceded in death by his wife, Genese Alexander. He is survived by his daughters, Alnita Patterson, Lakeland, Varerie Smith, North Carolina, Sharon Smith, New York; 15 grandchildren.
Central Florida Casket Store, Lakeland.
JOSEPH JUENGER, 80
Dental Technician
BARTOW -- Mr. Joseph W. Juenger of Bartow died of complications following a stroke Saturday (Dec. 18, 2004) at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. He was 80.
Born in Springfield, Ohio, on March 3, 1924, he came to Bartow from Ohio 20 years ago. He was a dental technician. He was a Marine Corps veteran of World War II. He was a member of St. Thomas Catholic Church in Bartow.
Mr. Juenger is survived by his wife, Geraldine Juenger; brother, John F. Juenger, Dayton, Ohio; sister, Therese Winthrow, Vandalia, Ohio.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Whidden-McLean Funeral Home, 650 E. Main St., Bartow. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Thomas Catholic Church, 2180 S. Kissinger Ave., Bartow. Burial will be in Lakeland Memorial Gardens.
RICHARD GIORDANELLI, 92
Business Owner
AUBURNDALE -- Mr. Richard Giordanelli of Auburndale died of complications from pneumonia March 11, 2005, at Good Shepherd Hospice Residential Center, Auburndale. He was 92.
Born May 6, 1912, Mr. Giordanelli owned a service station. He was a member of St. Anthony's Catholic Church, Lakeland.
Whidden-McLean Funeral Home, Bartow.
CATHERINE GIDDINGS, 78
Engineering Assistant
WINTER HAVEN -- Mrs. Catherine E. Giddings of Winter Haven died of lung cancer Friday (April 1, 2005). She was 78.
Born April 24, 1926, in Muskegon, Mich., Mrs. Giddings came here from there in 1983. She was a telephone engineering assistant. She was a member of IBEW Local 1106, Muskegon, and Grace Lutheran Church, where she was a member of the Naomi Women's Circle. She was president of the Michigan Women's Club, Muskegon.
Mrs. Giddings is survived by her husband, Charles J. Giddings; daughter, Camille Rudicil, Muskegon; one granddaughter; one great-grandchild.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Grace Lutheran Church, Winter Haven.
Steele's Family Funeral Services, Winter Haven.
ELAINE YOPP, 89
Secretary
LAKELAND -- Miss Elaine Yopp of Lakeland died of heart failure Wednesday (March 30, 2005). She was 89.
Born May 2, 1915, in Charlotte, N.C., Miss Yopp was a lifetime resident of this area. She was a secretary. She was a member of First Baptist Church at the Mall.
Lakeland Funeral Home.
James Pratt, 80, Citrus
HAINES CITY -- Mr. James B. "Buster" Pratt of Haines City, who had an extensive career in the Florida citrus industry and was inducted into the Citrus Hall of Fame, died of congestive heart failure Saturday (April 2, 2005) at Florida Regional Medical Center. He was 80.
Mr. Pratt was born July 2, 1924, in Louisville, Ky. He attended The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., before joining the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. After the war, he moved to Haines City in 1946 but later served with the Marine Corps during the Korean War.
He was 22 years old when he began working for the Citrus Experiment Station in Lake Alfred, where he began learning how to care for citrus crops, said his daughter, Elizabeth Gillette "Gill" Broadaway of Haines City.
Mr. Pratt went on to have a long and accomplished career in the citrus industry.
He retired from the Coca-Cola Food Division as assistant director of grove operations while also managing family citrus groves.
He was a past president of the Florida State Horticultural Society, the Florida Citrus Nursery Association, Polk County Farm Bureau and the University of Florida Fruit Crops Association.
He was a founding member, secretary and treasurer of the Citrus Research and Education Foundation. In 1993 he initiated the Deaprepes Task Force, concerned with protecting crops from exotic diseases and pests, and served as chairman until 2000.
He received an award of merit for distinguished service in agriculture from Gamma Sigma Delta, the honor society of agriculture, and received the Citrus Achievement Award in 2004.
Mr. Pratt was also a Haines City commissioner and was on the Haines City Chamber Education Task Force. He was named Haines City Pioneer of the Year in 2004.
When he was inducted in 2001 into the Citrus Hall of Fame, filled with degree-holding members, he was "very honored to be among people who had so much more formal education than he, " his daughter said.
"He learned from the ground floor up, instead of college class training, " she said.
Mr. Pratt is survived by his wife of 60 years, Jean P. Pratt; daughters, Elizabeth Gillette "Gill" Broadaway, Haines City, Mary Glen LaCharite, Amelia Island, and Lillian "Jamie" Simpson, Winter Haven; son, James B. "Gator" Pratt Jr., Haines City; sisters, Patty P. Conrad, Lynchburg, Va., and Jeanne P. Miller, Ross, Calif.; and 10 grandchildren.
Services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Haines City.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 21 S. Second St., Haines City, FL 33844, or the Citrus Research and Education.
Oak Ridge Funeral Care.
