Dr. Marvin Lee Ivey, 87, passed away last Friday, April 5, 2019. Born on January 17, 1932 in Orlando, Florida, he was the son of Elbert M. Ivey and Martha D. Ivey. The Ivey Family were early homesteaders in what is now downtown Orlando. In 1946, he was a Boy Scout achieving the level of Eagle Scout and he also was a Page in the U.S. House of Representatives and had lunch with President Truman in the White House. He graduated from Orlando High School and from the University of Florida where he was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity and the Army ROTC Program. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he served two years of active duty as a young officer and then returned to the University of Florida to earn a master’s degree and Doctorate in Education. He then moved his family to Pinellas County where he was a Professor and Science Department Chairman at St. Petersburg Junior College for 28 years before retiring in 1987. During that time, he continued his service in the Army reserves and retired in 1981 having attained the rank of Colonel. As a lifelong student, he returned to school to earn a law degree from Stetson University and was Licensed as an Attorney in 1979 and practiced Law from 1987 to 1994. In 1994, after retiring for a second time, he spent three months sailing in the South Pacific. His love of travel took him to all seven continents. He was an avid scuba diver for 60 years, diving reefs around the world. As an Earth Scientist he had insight into and concern for the environment and was a lifetime member of the Wilderness Society, the International Oceanographic Foundation, life fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Florida Association of Science Teachers. He was a lifetime member of the University of Florida Alumni Association, Mensa and Intertel, Phi Delta Kappa, and the Geological Society of America. He served on the board of the College Fund of Pinellas County, was an active member of Anona United Methodist Church, and the Optimist Club of St. Petersburg. He was part of the question writing team for the Florida High School Academic Tournament.
Marvin is survived by his wife of 66 years, Bette Ra Perry Ivey, his children Marvin Lee (Sonny) Ivey, Jr. and his wife Cynthia Ivey, and Susan Ivey Restani and her husband Ray Restani, his grandchildren Lt. Commander Douglas A. Ivey, USN and his wife Kristen Funderburk Ivey, Rebecca Ivey Tortorella and her husband Vincent Tortorella, Nicole Lee Restani, Alexandria Restani Greene and her husband Daniel Greene, his great-grandchildren McKenna and Charlotte Tortorella, his sister Elberta Ivey Lovett, his sister-in-law Dorothy Perry Tiller and nieces and nephews.
Services will be held Saturday, April 13, at Anona United Methodist Church at 3:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made in Marvin’s honor to the College Fund of Pinellas County, Inc., P.O. Box 673, Clearwater, Florida 33757 or Anona United Methodist Church Youth Program, 13233 Indian Rocks Road, Largo, Florida 33774.
