Obituary of Ethel Octavia Stancil

Ethel Octavia Hales Stancil, of Stancils Pineywoods Farm, mother of Circuit Judge Hale Ralph Stancil, Georgeanne Stancil Schore, Wm. Harold Stancil and Renn Stancil Hinton died Wednesday, February 16, 2011. She was 94 ½ years old. Her husband Ralph died on May 9, 2004 at 96. Ethel's visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011, at Hiers-Baxley Funeral Home, 910 East Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, Fla. Rev. Rick Hull, will officiate at Ethel's memorial service at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, February 22, 2011, at First Christian Church, 1908 East Fort King Street, Ocala, Fla. A reception will follow in Memorial Hall. Survived by Georgeanne Schore, husband Glenn; Renn Hinton, husband Bobby of Palatka, Fla.; Hale Ralph Stancil, wife Becky; Wm. Harold Stancil. Grandchildren Ted Schore, wife Jean, daughters Sarah, Eva, Grace; Alex Schore, partner Don Sandola of Plantation, Fla.; Darcee Hinton Sams, husband Jimmy of Bluffton, S.C.; Kip Hinton, wife Amalia of Inglewood, Calif.; Ty Hinton of Palatka, Fla.; Ash Hinton of Pensacola, Fla.; Coree Hinton of Tampa, Fla.; Stephanie Stancil DellaVecchia, husband Matt, children Ashlyn, Audrey, Andrew of Wellington, Fla.; Karen Stancil Champ, husband Chad, children Mason, Ella, Lily; Suzanne Stancil Stevens, husband Chris, sons Miles, Grant, Rett, Nate; Kathryn Stancil Riechert, husband David of Savannah, Ga.; John Ralph Stancil; Nephew Charlie Brown, wife Martha; first cousin Juanita Hales Wishart Klug of Wesley Chapel, Fla., Chloe Creech Sullivan, husband J.C. of Selma, N.C.; Noah Lee Blackman of Selma, N.C.; Ray Blackman of Sarasota, Fla.; Billy Ray Creech, wife Linda of Selma, N.C.; plus many other cousins. Preceded in death by her husband of 68 years, George Ralph Stancil; brother, Percy Hales; sister, Ruby Hales Brown Blair; grandson, Jay Benjamin Hinton. Ethel, born July 24, 1916, in Cuthbert, Randolph County, Ga., was the youngest child of Octavia Creech and William Madison Hales. William and brother, Ransom, father of Gladys Hales who married Robert Ringgold, moved their families from Johnston County, N.C., to Ga. They farmed and started a neighborhood Baptist Church. In 1919 William and Ransom visited Marion County, Fla., and Silver Springs. They liked the area. Each purchased 200 acres, moved possessions by rail and families by car to Ocala. They attended the Cottage Hill Christian Church, when the minister left in 1923; they joined First Christian Church, Ocala. Ethel's dad was first to grow tobacco in Marion County. They sold it in Georgia. He also started a dairy. Ethel milked 6 cows twice a day; she was just 9 years old. William was a school teacher in N.C. When 11-year-old Ethel showed an interest in writing, her dad purchased a Remington typewriter from Sears & Roebuck. The family had many visitors from N.C. Her mother often said that anyone who had ever heard of them stopped by for free room and board! A group of visitors in July 1927 were Uncle Jesse Hales, nephew Robert Pittman, Uncle Abednigo Atkinson, Ralph Stancil and Raymond Hill. In 1932, Ralph, 24, wrote Ethel a letter inquiring about jobs in Florida. Thus began their courtship by letters. Ralph moved to Dos Rios, Calif., and found work on a ranch. In 1934, after Ethel graduated valedictorian from Ocala High School, Ethel and Ralph arranged to meet at the Stancil Family Reunion in Johnston County, N.C. Ralph rode the Greyhound Bus from California to the reunion. After this visit, they became engaged. Ralph returned to Calif. and Ethel returned to Florida where she started a stenographer business. A year later, Ralph and Ethel married on Aug. 21, 1935, in First Christian Church, Ocala. After the ceremony, they rode the Greyhound Bus to the Stancil Reunion and then out to Calif. In 1996 Ethel wrote about their courtship in her book, Love For Keeps. During 1 ½ years on the ranch, both of their fathers died. This prompted a move to Ocala. Ethel applied for a job in 1937 with Cecil Bryant, who managed the Savings and Loan and gas plant. It paid $10 a week. His son Farris became the 34th governor of Fla. Ethel and Ralph started their farm in 1938. Ralph began buying day-old dairy calves. When WWII started, Ralph traveled, working in shipyards. Feeding the calves twice a day and supervising farming became Ethel's job. Ethel worked for Mr. Bryant until 1944 when her second child was born. She joined the neighborhood Cottage Hill Home Demonstration Club and was active until they disbanded in the 1970s. Ethel sold articles to several magazines and wrote a weekly column, Cottage Hill News, for the Ocala Star Banner. She wrote a monthly column, The Kowbelles, for the Florida Cattlemen magazine. Later in 1984, she and daughter Georgeanne put together a Stancil Family Cookbook. Life changed forever on Jan. 3, 1951. A drunk driver crashed into Ethel and Ralph's new Studebaker car in S.C. They were returning to Fla. from N.C. The impact pushed the engine back, crushing and breaking Ethel's legs. Ethel wrote about it in her 1999 book, Not A Leg To Stand On. She spent 9 months in Monroe Memorial Hospital, Ocala. Making a living farming was difficult. Ethel decided she needed to return to work. In 1953, she was hired by James S. Weaver. He took over Mr. Bryant's business. Ethel was on crutches, but over time she was able to walk without even using a cane. Mr. Weaver started a CPA firm and Ethel stayed with the firm. Today it is Duggan, Joiner & Company. In 1977, after 25 years of service, the firm honored Ethel with a surprise dinner and set of luggage. Ethel and Ralph began traveling. They toured farms in The Netherlands, England, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand and stayed with farm families. Along with many trips to N.C. they also visited Alaska, Fiji and Hawaii. Ethel loved her church. She taught Sunday School, was church historian, attended church conventions and served on the evangelism committee. Ethel invited people to church and took neighborhood children. She often invited folks for Sunday dinner. Ethel retired in 1996 at 80 years old. Now she focused on her first love, writing. Ethel had a wonderful sense of humor. Her last book, Memories, published in 2005, reflected this. On Friday, June 29, 2001, NW 60th Avenue was officially named Stancil Avenue and the intersection of US Hwy 27 and NW 60th Ave., was officially named Stancil's Corner in honor of Ethel and Ralph Stancil for their contributions to Marion County. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Ethel's memory to First Christian Church, 1908 East Fort King Street, Ocala, FL 34471-2529.