Welcome to Gilchrist County GenWeb
Donna Oakley Memorial
Copyrighted 1990 by Donna J. Oakley
Index compiled by Jim Powell Jr.
Index
I am sure many of you have used the Cemetery Records Books by Donna J. Oakley. Many of you may have even written to the address in the front of the book requesting a copy of the book or information. I have learned that my letters were too late as Donna died February 16, 1996. Her Obituary and some comments by her friend Marilyn C. Kamann follow... Jim Powell, Jr. former County Coordinator: 1996 - 2008
Donna J. Oakley
Donna died Feb 16, 1996 following an extended illness. A native of Miami, Fl. Mrs. Oakley had been a resident of Ft. White for the past twenty-three years. Mrs. Oakley was a homemaker, a member of the National Genealogical Society and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She served as the local genealogical secretary for the church for many years. Mrs. Oakley is survived by a daughter, Julie Bernardo, Ft. White; a son, Robert S. Alcorn, Branford; her mother, Virginia Robertson, Miami; and two brothers, Curtis and Edward Robertson of Miami, FL. Two grandsons also survive.
Graveside funeral services for Mrs. Oakley will be conducted at 2:00 PM Tuesday Feb 20, 1996 in the Ft. White cemetery with Bishop Regal Dicks officiating. Interment will follow.
In Memorium
Donna was a beautiful person, inside and out. She never refused to help anyone. She spent a lot of hours in the Mormon library in Lake City and the Courthouse doing research for people unable to make a trip from out of town. She spent hours roaming cemeteries, indexing them into book form in hopes of helping others with their research. She was very knowledgeable about the Columbia County Florida families. She could usually tell you a little something about most of the older ones, what she didn't know, she would try and find out.
In just a few short years we became very close friends. I helped copy her Columbia Co. Cemetery Book for sale to libraries and individuals. I put her Union Co. FL. Cemetery Index Book into typed form for printing. She was too ill to do anything with it as far as I know. Donna also indexed the cemeteries of Gilchrest and Suwannee Counties. She did all this with a manual typewriter and did the indexing manually. What a love she had for genealogy!!
by Marilyn C. Kamann
We would like to place all of her books online, but at this time we have been unable to receive permission. In the meantime we will continue to use the Index at http://www.ancestry.rootsweb.com/~flgilchr/cemetery.html and hopefully some of us will be able to use her listings to help resurvey the various cemeteries... Jim Powell, Jr. former County Coordinator: 1996 - 2008
If anyone knows who to contact regarding Mrs. Oakley's books on Gilchrist County or any other Florida County, please contact the County Coordinator. We will continue to seek permission place her books on this website. January 2011