Ira William "Bill" Southward

Southward, Ira William (Bill), 89, passed away peacefully Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at home in Lake Mary. A sixth generation Floridian, he was born in Sanford April 6, 1925 to Ira E. and Myra Lee Southward. Bill married the love of his life, Edna Marie Senkarik on May 23, 1944, the same weekend he and Edna graduated from Seminole High School. After completing a tour of service in the Army, he moved back to Sanford and spent the rest of his life in Central Florida. A consummate Southern gentleman, he grew up in an idyllic and much simpler time and witnessed the area’s transformation into the present. He enjoyed a productive and successful career in Florida’s citrus industry. In addition to his work, Bill loved his family and was an advisor, mentor and friend to numerous Grandchildren, nieces, nephews and many friends whom he treated as family. He also loved his church and was a long-time member of Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. He was a very generous man to many causes and people he believed in. Southward is pre-deceased by his two sons, Gary William Southward and Ira Michael Southward, Grandson Andrew William Southward, Sister Myra Southward Doudney and Brother Ernest Merritt Southward. In addition to his wife of seventy years, he’s survived by his Sister Jean Southward Dinkins, Daughter-in-law Janis Thibeau Southward, two Grandchildren, three Great-grandchildren, one Great-Great Grandson and numerous adoring nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 2525 S. Oak Ave., Sanford, FL on Saturday Feb. 7 at 11:00 AM with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests tax-deductible donations in Bill’s honor to Redeeming Life Outreach Ministries, P.O. Box 1496, Sanford, FL 32772.