Coconut Creek FL Funeral Homes
$20 OFF
Heart-felt tributes to honor a dear friend or loved one who has passed away
7500 North State Road 7
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
(954) 427-6500
7500 North State Road 7
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
(954) 427-6500
Coconut Creek FL Obituaries and Death Notices
Monday, September 26, 2016Retired Lt. Col. Leo Gray, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen who fought in the skies over Europe during World War II, died Friday in his Coconut Creek home. He was 92.Gray, a Boston native, enlisted after high school — when the U.S. military was segregated — and began training in 1942 at Tuskegee Army Airfield. He became an active-duty pilot the following year.He was then stationed in Italy, where he flew 15 combat missions as a pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, which protected Allied bombers. He flew the P-51 Mustang, also referred to as a "Red Tail," logging 750 flight hours."He said he never got a chance to shoot down any Germans, but he was ready to," said Gray's friend, Maj. Nate Osgood of the Broward Sheriff's Office. "[The Tuskegee Airmen] were true pioneers of the civil rights movement."In 2013, the Broward Sheriff's Office recognized Gray, along with Col. Eldridge Williams and Judge Richard Rutledge, for serving their country while battling racism and bigotry.After the war, Gray earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural economics and became an executive with the U.S. D...
Monday, July 04, 2016Sing---Out Miami/ Up With People (Jacquee) and the Miami Vanguards Drum & Bugle Corps (Robyn).He was an ordained Deacon of Calvary Presbyterian Church in Coconut Creek, FL.He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather, William Williams, his great-grandson, Richard A. Jaggers, and his first wife of 57 years, Helen M. Steinhardt Russell.Jack is survived by his sweet heart and beloved wife of 12 years, Mary Jane Whippler Russell of Lenoir, NC,his daughters Jacqueline J. ‘Jacquee’ Russell of Daytona Beach, FL; Robyn Russell (Frank) Mattia of Chattanooga, TN; daughters & son by marriage, Jayne (Dale) Dietzman of North Lauderdale, FL; Elizabeth ‘Beth’ (Greg) Carter of Lenoir, NC; Ellen Wolfe Gonter of Ormond Beach, FL; and Bruce Wolfe of Ormond Beach, FL. Grandchildren include Ginger Price (Dan) Monteleone of FL; Richard (Mia) Price of GA; Daniel (Grissel) Price of FL; Ralph Dietzman of FL; Janell Carter (Jared) Edwards of NC; Jason (Kris) Carterof IL; Michael(Stephanie) Gonter of FL; Chelsey (Richard) Lancaster of Nashville, TN; and Alex Mattiao Chattanooga, with 14 great-grandchildren.A memorial service will be held Tuesday, in the chapel of Pendry’s Lenoir Funeral Home at 6:30 pm, 522 Wilkesboro Blvd SE, Lenoir, NC, 28645. Burial will take place at a later date at the National Cemetery in Chattanooga.Online condolences may be left at www.pendrysfuneralhome.com.
Coconut Creek News
Monday, September 26, 2016Retired Lt. Col. Leo Gray, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen who fought in the skies over Europe during World War II, died Friday in his Coconut Creek home. He was 92.Gray, a Boston native, enlisted after high school — when the U.S. military was segregated — and began training in 1942 at Tuskegee Army Airfield. He became an active-duty pilot the following year.He was then stationed in Italy, where he flew 15 combat missions as a pilot with the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, which protected Allied bombers. He flew the P-51 Mustang, also referred to as a "Red Tail," logging 750 flight hours."He said he never got a chance to shoot down any Germans, but he was ready to," said Gray's friend, Maj. Nate Osgood of the Broward Sheriff's Office. "[The Tuskegee Airmen] were true pioneers of the civil rights movement."In 2013, the Broward Sheriff's Office recognized Gray, along with Col. Eldridge Williams and Judge Richard Rutledge, for serving their country while battling racism and bigotry.After the war, Gray earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in agricultural economics and became an executive with the U.S. D...
Monday, July 04, 2016Sing---Out Miami/ Up With People (Jacquee) and the Miami Vanguards Drum & Bugle Corps (Robyn).He was an ordained Deacon of Calvary Presbyterian Church in Coconut Creek, FL.He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather, William Williams, his great-grandson, Richard A. Jaggers, and his first wife of 57 years, Helen M. Steinhardt Russell.Jack is survived by his sweet heart and beloved wife of 12 years, Mary Jane Whippler Russell of Lenoir, NC,his daughters Jacqueline J. ‘Jacquee’ Russell of Daytona Beach, FL; Robyn Russell (Frank) Mattia of Chattanooga, TN; daughters & son by marriage, Jayne (Dale) Dietzman of North Lauderdale, FL; Elizabeth ‘Beth’ (Greg) Carter of Lenoir, NC; Ellen Wolfe Gonter of Ormond Beach, FL; and Bruce Wolfe of Ormond Beach, FL. Grandchildren include Ginger Price (Dan) Monteleone of FL; Richard (Mia) Price of GA; Daniel (Grissel) Price of FL; Ralph Dietzman of FL; Janell Carter (Jared) Edwards of NC; Jason (Kris) Carterof IL; Michael(Stephanie) Gonter of FL; Chelsey (Richard) Lancaster of Nashville, TN; and Alex Mattiao Chattanooga, with 14 great-grandchildren.A memorial service will be held Tuesday, in the chapel of Pendry’s Lenoir Funeral Home at 6:30 pm, 522 Wilkesboro Blvd SE, Lenoir, NC, 28645. Burial will take place at a later date at the National Cemetery in Chattanooga.Online condolences may be left at www.pendrysfuneralhome.com.
