Mildred Shuri Speed, was called home to be with her Lord and Savior, on July 12, 2019. She was born in Kingstree, SC and relocated with her family to Jacksonville, FL as a young child. She was the daughter of the late W. Moultrie McCullough and Mildred Rucker McCullough. Growing up in Jacksonville, FL she attended Andrew Jackson High School and where she met the love of her life Douglas W. Speed, Sr. She then attended the University of Florida studying Education and was an active member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. Shuri and Doug married in 1956 and enjoyed 62 wonderful years together. During their life together, they raised three devoted children and while she enjoyed traveling and seeing the world, she loved returning home to Ponte Vedra Beach.
She was grounded in her Christian faith and led her life in the service for others. Her devotion to her husband and her dedication to her family were unending. She was always there to wish you luck, cheer on your sports team or applaud her grandchildren. As a testament to her generation she never failed to send a thank you note, a note of condolence or a simple note to let you know she was thinking about you. She worked tirelessly for numerous charities but always seem to focus on preserving the beaches’ history and conserving our world’s wildlife while protecting the rights of hunters.
Her early career in education gave way to staying at home and raising her growing family but returned to the workforce, to build a long and distinguished second career in Real Estate. The truest testament of her dedication to her clients was how many of her clients turned into cherished lifelong friends. Shuri is survived by her loving husband Douglas W. Speed, Sr., and her children: her daughter Stacy Rucker Manges and her husband Karl of St. Augustine, and sons Douglas W. Speed Jr. and his wife Shelley of Atlantic Beach, and Gordon Speed and his wife Kimberly of Alexandria, VA; and five grandchildren Mary, Douglas, William, Raleigh and Collins. She was preceded in death by her sisters Sandra Elizabeth Banks of Melrose, FL and Mary Colman Hale of Fernandina Beach.
A service to remember Mrs. Speed’s life will be held Monday, August 12, 2019 at Community Presbyterian Church, 150 Sherry Dr., Atlantic Beach, FL 32233 commencing at 10:30 am. The family will receive friends immediately following the service. The inurnment will take place in a family ceremony at a later date. In lieu of flowers her family kindly request donations be made to Friends of the Library Ponte Vedra Beach, PO Box 744, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32004 or to Community Hospice & Palliative Care, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, FL 32257 or give online at support.communityhospice.com.
Arrangements by Hardage-Giddens, The Oaklawn Chapel, 4801 San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville 904-737-7171. Please sign the guestbook at www.hardagegiddensoaklawnchapel.com.
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