Antony Roy Woodward

He is survived by myself, Sharon, his devoted wife of 28 years; brother Paul King who resides in Farham, Hampshire, England; Step-daughter Julie McCollister (Tom); niece Georgi King; and nephew Jakob King; grandchildren Ethan McCollister and Libby McCollister; and our cats Nutter, Butter, Jade, and Ginger.

Tony was born in England in the beautiful New Forest on July 21, 1967, to his loving mother Jennifer, now deceased. He attended local schools in England and at the age of 15 he began a 4 year apprentice program as a coach builder. He built coaches, emergency vehicles, and armored vehicles. He told me that was the best of times working with metal. This moment in time changed his future forever.

Tony came to America in July 1997. On July 31, 1997 we were wed in St Augustine Florida, beginning our life together.

Tony took his entrepreneurial spirit by the tail and off he went. Importing Land Rovers from England, he refurbished them and sold them all over the country, where he gained respect from the Land Rover community.

We opened the Prince of Wales Restaurant in St. Augustine and again Tony excelled in his cooking (especially his fish and chips) and his eye for detail. We went from building the restaurant from scratch, to being mentioned in Southern Living for being one of eight favorite spots on Florida’s most historic streets in St Augustine.

After selling the restaurant in St Augustine in 2010, we ventured to Orlando FL to start the St Augustine Express. That was a short lived venture, but again Tony with his knack of selling we sold our 3 buses and left for Chattanooga, TN.

We set up house on the top of Look Out Mountain. A beautiful place. Tony went to work for Julie’s brother-in-law, Brad Perry, at AMP Torching. Tony was a heavy metal cutter. He enjoyed working the torch, cutting and blowing up wheel hubs that still had grease in them. He did like fire.

We ventured to Bryson City, NC to try our hand at restaurants again. We opened Frydays and Sundaes, a cafe and ice cream shop. We served the best fish and chips around, plus great ice cream. We experienced the mountain life, and met some great people that lived there. They helped us through the trials we had with life at the time.

While at Bryson City, Tony’s precious mother became ill, so he went back home to be with her in England, and I shut the restaurant before joining him.

After his mothers passing, we came back to Jacksonville where we took over my family's business, Gateway Auto Sales. During this time, Tony acquired mechanical skills to add to the repertoire of skills he had. Along with making the cars, we strove to be as perfect as possible, that was the person he was.

We sold the auto lot in 2020. After that we went into retirement mode. But not really. We started Republic Protection, selling bulletproof vest all over the country. He continued this up until his death.

Tony loved to travel and we have been lucky enough to travel to many places in the world. Life with him was always an adventure.

Tony was a good man, fine and honest. A loving husband and my best friend. Everyone that met him was touched by him one way or another. There will never be another man like him.

I know this is a long obituary, but I wanted everyone that reads this to see his life through my eyes, his wife of 28 years. I loved that man with all my heart, and I will miss him greatly.

A gathering of friends and family will be held at a later date.