Audrey W. Skaff

Audrey Wilkerson Skaff went home to be with her Lord July 2, 2025, after a short illness. She was born on March 25, 1932, in Bowling Green, FL in Hardee County. Audrey was raised on a 160-acre farm by her parents Leon and Carrie Wilkerson. With her four sisters helping her parents in the fields and orange grove and tending cattle, they lived a sometimes hard, but simple and rewarding life. She went to Strawberry school, going to school in the summer so they could work in the strawberry fields in the winter. She carried this work ethic and a servant heart throughout her life.

She moved to the big city of Jacksonville, FL in the early 1950’s following her sister. There she met the love of her life, Joe Skaff. He was a dark, handsome (“swarthy man”, her words), and they fell in love immediately. They had three boys and moved to property on Julington Creek in Mandarin, FL in 1965 when it was still country. Married to Joe for 50 years she continued to be a help and blessing to her sons and their wives and her grandchildren, always helping and serving when there was a need. Audrey’s passion was cooking and baking, always making meals and desserts for family and friends. She was a fantastic seamstress and loved sewing and crafts. She was always vibrant and active, she loved to try new recipes, and her cookbook collection is unheard of today. Chicken and dumplings and Cheeseburger Meatloaf were two of her family’s favorites. Audrey also became an expert in several Syrian dishes she learned from her Mother-in Law and her husband. There were too many favorite desserts to mention. She was a parishioner of St. Joseph’s for 60 years and a trusted money counter for nearly 20 years.

Audrey is predeceased by her parents, Leon and Carrie Wilkerson, her husband Joseph D. Skaff, Sons David Joseph Skaff and Dennis Christopher Skaff and grandson Joseph David Skaff, as well as all 4 of her sisters. She is survived by son Michael Leon Skaff and his wife Suzanne, Daughters-in-Law Julia Skaff and Dana Skaff, Grandchildren Beth Markham, Christopher Skaff, Joseph Christopher Skaff, Savannah Skaff, Audrey Haines, Caroline Zinn and Amelia Morford and seven great grandchildren.

A gathering of family and friends will be held from for Audrey on Monday July 7, 2025, at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 11801 San Jose Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32223, followed by a celebration of life from 1:00 PM to 2:00PM. Interment will follow at 2:30 at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials or donations be made to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, 4266 Sunbeam Road Jacksonville, FL 32257. Arrangements Hardage-Giddens Mandarin Funeral Home