Judith E. Barbee

Judith Elaine Black Barbee (Judy) August 10, 1939-June 13, 2017 Judy was a daughter, wife, mother, sister, grandmother, great grandmother and aunt to our family. She met all with an encouraging smile, a listening ear and an open heart. She fed our imaginations by encouraging a love of books, wooded paths and high adventure. She was a vagabond spirit, who chose to remain grounded in her family. She was also a nurse, who never lost her sense of compassion, or her empathy for those who needed her care. Her sense of humor could guide anyone back to sanity when life became unmanageable. Judy was born in Orlando, Florida and spent her early years at our family homestead on Merritt Island. Her childhood was spent among the orange blossoms and fruit crates of a working citrus farm. She loved to tell us of her adventures along the pathways that led to the river, or to secret clearings in the woods. In her later childhood, the family resided in Savannah, Georgia, a place that always held her heart. She was a graduate of St. Vincent's Academy where she sang in the choir at St. John's Cathedral. Throughout her life, she often returned to Savannah, as her memories there were quite precious to her. Judy raised her family in Virginia, where she and her husband Roger were the lone paramedics in Colonial Beach. During that time, she followed her girlhood dream and became a Registered Nurse. She returned to Florida many years ago. In her heart, she had always been a barefoot beach girl, and was happy to once again live in the State of her birth. She worked first as a critical care nurse, then found her ultimate passion as a hospice nurse. She always was, and always will be a Girl Raised in the South. She leaves behind her husband Roger Barbee, children Carrie Seabrook (Jeff) Cathy Turbessi, Jeanenne Watters (Ed), Michael Turbessi (Conny), Maria Bryant (Paul), Scott Barbee; grandchildren Megan, Meredyth, Shiekina, Timothy, Tiffany, Devon, Mathias, Alina, Matthew, Taylor, Christian and Kalen; greatgrandchildren Austin, Autumn, Brandell, Makalah, and Daniel. She also is survived by her sisters Dorothy Black Nash, Elinor Black Bell, brother Robbie Black and her nephews and nieces Joe Blessington, Laura Blessington, Robin Blessington Marina Blessington, Susan White, Jeffrey White and Ira Bell. She is preceded in death by her father Robert Black (Bob), mother Elaine Ragin Black (Sugar), sons Richard Ernest Turbessi (Rickie), Timothy Allen Turbessi (Timmy) and her sister Linda Black Johnson. Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, June 17th, 2017 at 11:00 A.M. at Legacy House Chapel in Ocala, Florida. Reception directly after at Carney Island Park in Ocklawaha. In lieu of flowers, the family gratefully requests that donations be made to either Hospice of Marion County at 3231 SW 34th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34474 or the St. Luke's Episcopal Church Chapel Restoration Fund at 5555 North Tropical Trail, Merritt Island, FL 32953.

Judith E. Barbee

August 10, 1939 - June 13, 2017