Leona F. Huffman

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Mrs. Huffman had previously been a resident of Pemberville, Ohio and Palm City, Florida before relocating to West Palm Beach.

She worked as a Medical Assistant for Dr. William Myers State Senator, and Dr. James McConnell, EMT for twenty years.

Mrs. Huffman was one of the founding members of Palm City Presbyterian Church in Palm City, FL. She was also a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Daughters of the War of 1812 , Daughters of the American Colonists, and a member of the Medical Assistants of America.

Survivors include her daughter, Sandra Kay Holt, of Oklahoma City, OK; son, Thomas Charles Huffman of Gainesville, FL; daughter, Penny Sue Green (Philip) of Miami Shores, FL; daughter, Julia Ann Carriker (Joe) of Rivera Beach, FL; grandchildren, Karen Renee Holt, Christopher Philip Green, Philip Michael Green, Caroline Melissa Green, and Kelly Anne Green; great grandchildren, Nathaniel and Jasmine.

She was predeceased by her husband, Stanley Palmer Huffman, and brothers, Sherwin Frederick Schubert and George Willis Schubert.

Visitation will be held from 1:00 – 3:00 PM on Friday, December 2, 2011 at Aycock Funeral Home in Stuart with a memorial service to begin at 3:00PM. Please wear bright colors.

Memorial contributions may be made in her honor to Molly’s House, 430 SE Osceola St, Stuart, FL 34994.

Please visit Mrs. Huffman’s online guestbook at www.aycockfuneralhome.net.

All arrangements are entrusted to Aycock Funeral Home, Stuart, FL.

Reverend Ray Gamble:

Leona Fremont Schubert was born on April 24, 1925, in Jacksonville, FL. Her parents, Frederick and Vernon Schubert, were chiropractors. During the Depression, their business folded, so Frederick moved his family to Columbus, OH, and he worked on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad as a surveyor and engineer until he retired. He kept daily detailed journals about the railroad work—and Leona kept all of them. The middle sibling of three children—Sherwin (the oldest) and George (the youngest)—her brothers constantly plagued her. So she learned at an early age to stand up for herself.

Leona attended Elementary and High School in North Columbus, and she graduated in 1945. She continued her education at Ohio State University as a horticulture student and worked in the library. Stanley said he asked her for a book and thought she had the prettiest brown eyes. He started dating Leona while at Ohio State. They rode the trolley together, and sometimes he picked her up on the way to school. Since he was a commissioned Army officer during World War II, his term didn’t finish until the end of October, so a wedding date was chosen—November 2, 1947. They tied the knot and moved into the house that Stanley built for her at the bottom of the only hill on Route 6 in Wood County, Ohio.

Stanley worked on the family farm growing vegetables and gladiolus flowers, and Leona learned to drive the tractor used for hauling flowers. They also had a business in Pemberville—Huffman Flowers. Leona managed the business office along with making corsages, floral arrangements, bouquets and corsages for weddings, and anything else with flowers. She was an expert at making beautiful bows for any occasion.

Four children were born there—Sandra Kay, Thomas Charles, Penny Sue, and Julia Ann.

In 1963 Huffman Flowers folded and the family moved to Indiana for one year, so that Stanley could become a flower grower. Stanley was looking for a more challenging job, and growers were needed in a little town called Stuart, FL. He and Leona went to investigate the job market. Stanley was hired as a grower and manager at Tyson Flowers. So, Leona went North and moved "the tribe" South—away from shoveling snow, to swimming at the beach on Christmas Day. She sadly left behind family, favorite friends, and lots of personal items which had great sentimental value.

Stanley chose a rental house in Hobe Sound, FL, and the family became members of the Hobe Sound Presbyterian Church. Stanley became their choir director, and Leona and children sang in the choir, sometimes becoming a family sextet on Sundays.

Leona worked for Dr. William Myers in Hobe Sound for many years. Dr. Myers became a State Senator and later retired. Leona then decided to become a Medical Assistant, studied and received her degree. She was hired to work for Dr. James McConnell, ENT, in Stuart. She was a member of the Medical Assistants of America.

When Sandy graduated from high school and attended college out of state, Leona decided to pursue a hobby which turned out to be genealogy. She joined the Daughters of the American Revolution, and was an officer in different capacities for many years. She always enjoyed learning more about her family history and did many years of research to accomplish this goal. She also joined many other genealogical organizations.

When her daughters decided to marry, Leona and Stanley prepared for their weddings by making all the flower arrangements. Leona made her daughters’ wedding dresses, bridesmaids’ dresses, and her own dress—as she was an expert seamstress. In 2007 she made a final, beautiful wedding dress for her daughter, Julia.

When Tom decided to join the Armed Forces, Leona constantly sent him care packages full of chocolate chip, peppermint candy cane cookies (his favorite). Leona and Stanley would look at world maps to follow his travels around the world.

As the grandchildren came, Leona and Stanley would travel wherever they needed to be to help take care of grandchildren, and spend time with their children. There were many joyful years filled with laughter, love, and songs.

I met Stanley and Leona again when they decided to help start the Palm City Presbyterian Church. Stanley was our first choir director and devoted to the church and to music. Leona also sang in the choir and was our church historian, which was a volunteer job. She kept every church bulletin, event papers, monthly newsletters, pictures, and she made Christmas advent wreaths every year until she reluctantly retired. Stanley and Leona would volunteer for positions as Deacons and Elders in the church, and lovingly served in these positions faithfully. When the church was built, our plant nursery donated many of the trees, shrubs, and flowering plants around the property. Some are still there, including the beautiful large gardenia bush on the northwest corner of the property.

Leona and Stanley were very proud of their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Leona always had hope that Sandy was still alive somewhere, and that Sandy would contact her when she was ready. After Leona’s passing, the family has received word that Sandy is alive and living in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Leona finally found her lost daughter.

Penny’s words:

We are here to celebrate my mother’s life. She was a compassionate and caring person. Her helping hands found many projects over the years to bring joy, and bring comfort to others. Mom was always a hard worker—she was always sewing dresses at holiday time for her girls—in the middle of the night—sometimes completing her efforts at dawn’s early light or minutes before it was needed (like our wedding dresses). She instilled these ethics to finish the work at hand, as did my father—to be willing to aid where hands are needed, and to continually be the best we could be.

She especially loved writing letters to family and friends, and receiving a reply back by phone or note. A short letter would turn into a number of pages or a mini booklet, and the receiver was always happy to be well informed through Mom’s epistles.

Her joyful hands and nimble fingers were accurate and dutiful, making creations and astounding recipients. She was always working for God to lighten others’ burdens, and bring comfort. She was thoughtful and empathized in others’ grief for loved ones.

She has taken with her the lost arts that we were unable to learn, such as knitting, crocheting, tatting, making jackets and coats, quilts, and upholstery. She designed her own clothes, often changing and mixing pattern pieces to make what she wanted. She would design the most beautiful Christmas ornaments as presents for our families, and she crocheted snowflakes and angels for our homes.

When God called to her, she responded. She made baby quilts for St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach, and she made head scarves for service men in Iraq. Sometimes we helped by going to JoAnn’s Fabrics (our favorite place to "touch and feel")—to get supplies for her projects such as braided cord for the church’s Chrismons, tatting thread for a wedding heart or an angel, beads for necklaces or to adorn a garment. She was always busy—a crochet hook became a speedy weapon as it dipped and curved the yarn or string to complete the assigned task. She could practically crochet while she was falling asleep.

She made my wedding dress with lace, my veil, and a hoop skirt. She beaded and hand-sewed lace roses onto my satin wedding dress. She restrung a traditional pearl ornamental medallion, which was worn by my grandmother, mother, and older sister. This has become a tradition with our family.

She comforted me and advised me how to take care of my children, because she also had 4, and many years of experience. She helped me make jackets and dresses for my daughters. A bottle of Vicks Vapor Rub is your friend.

She watched my children grow, came to their school events, and watched them mature into adulthood--loving each moment she was able to spend with them. She always ended every visit with hugs and kisses for everyone—2-3 times each.

Julie’s words:

My mother, Leona Huffman, was an astounding woman. She was my best friend, confidant, sounding board, and a mother when she needed to be that person. She loved to write and had excellent handwriting, and wrote mega letters to her family and friends. We have received a few calls from her distraught cousins, saying that they loved her feistiness, stubbornness, and always her laughter and thoughtfulness.

When my dad died, I was a mess and unable to speak at his funeral. I want to express myself this time and tell you about my mother. She helped me to grieve after my father’s death, but she would not let me be alone. She felt that although we were grieving, we should be at church celebrating music and God’s love for our family every Sunday. She also set an example for other grieving women in the church to do the same thing for their loved ones. At church, we were all surrounded by family and friends to help us.

After Mom moved to West Palm Beach to be near me, she joined the crafting group of women where she lived. She made at least 100 baby quilts for St. Mary’s Medical Center. She also decided to crochet pink and blue baby caps for premature babies at St. Mary’s Medical Center. The office where I worked decided to make scarves for service men and women in Iraq. When Mom heard about this, she wanted to help and put her skills to work. She produced more than 80 scarves to be sent in care packages to the soldiers.

When Mom would hear about relatives’ babies being born, she would usually make a baby blanket and cap for them. One of my cousins was delighted to receive these packages for each of her 3 children. One day she called mother to say that her daughter had torn a hole in her favorite blanket, and the child wanted to know if it could be fixed. My cousin sent the blanket back to Mom. She patiently found the same yarn to match the hole and wove the blanket back together. When Mom sent it back to my cousin, she and her daughter inspected the blanket and could not find where Mom had patched it. They were amazed.

Last year Mom received a message from God, clearly telling her to make an afghan for my Dad’s brother who had bladder cancer. After that, she decided to make afghans for Dad’s 2 remaining brothers. They were very overwhelmed and appreciative of her efforts. She also made a winter scarf for her sister-in-law in Albuquerque, NM.

My Mother’s greatest passion was genealogy. Grandfather Schubert traced genealogy for the Schubert and Davis family lines. After my oldest sister graduated from high school and went to college, Mother felt she needed a hobby—so she took over Grandpa Schubert’s work. She went after it with a vengeance. She had the patience of Job to search for documents, read books, go to libraries, and patiently read and search for the information she wanted. This was fun for her.

On our summer vacations—she would have us walk through graveyards looking for historic markers that she was searching to prove lineage. Of course, WE did not want to do this on a hot, sticky summer afternoon—but she was diligent with her searches and documentation. She truly loved it. I can’t tell you how many graveyards we searched. She has quite an extensive written history of genealogy for our family, and she could tell you everything you needed to know.

She was so happy to receive a call from a stranger who then turned out to be a relative or dear friend, and she spent countless hours helping them with their histories. She would get so excited to tell me about her calls. We also visited unknown relatives that she searched through telephone books in towns and cities around the country. She exchanged family papers, heard wonderful family stories, and met new relatives over the years—some relatives who still keep in touch and call her for information. When Mom’s cousin passed away a few years ago, she called all of my father’s brothers, sister, and children to make a current telephone genealogy list for our family.

She helped me with my sewing (because I am not a patient seamstress), and she made the most beautiful wedding dress for me. She spent countless hours designing my wedding dress (which took her 6 months to design and sew), hand sewing the seams because she was guided to do so by her grandmother, who taught her how to sew at age 7. She added the beautiful beads all over the bodice, designed my veil, and tatted my garters for my wedding. She had her hands in everything.

Mother would lovingly fix my sewing mistakes, interpret pattern instructions, advise me on how to cut out and sew clothes, and repair clothes. She would tell me to slow down and "do it right the first time". I will miss her helpfulness and telling me to "lower my hemlines".

She kept me laughing, and made me very happy for the time we sent together. We would go to movies, on shopping trips, and out for lunches, dinners, and desserts (the best part). We enjoyed each other’s company and had a wonderful and fulfilling time together.

Cousin Bill Schubert and his Wife, Marcelle, had a letter read at the service:

In Memory of a Beautiful Lady: Leona Schubert Huffman

I think back to the pre-war year of 1941, and that pretty teenaged girl standing by a palm tree on a beach in Florida, and thinking, "I sure would love to have a date with that girl." But that girl had sent me that picture and written to me because I was in teh Navy, and she was my cousin! The war begins, and as many families we went in different directions, but we did stay in touch.

Leona married a real wonderful guy by the name of Stanley Huffman, but we forgave her for marrying a "soldier". Ha! They had 4 children, some I didn't meet until years later, and some we still hope to meet.

Leona was a special lady, that had a few loves in her life that I'm well aware of: her love of her God and church, her love of country. If only this world had more Leonas.

Marcelle and I mourn her sudden passing, but we know where she is going. She will be with two of her loves. She will be missed by all who have known her, as she would say.

Love you, Bill and Marcelle

Thank you to everyone for keeping us in your prayers. We know that Angels are watching over us as we mourn our Mother’s passing. Angels are all around us.