Mary Ann Skipper Young

Mary Ann Skipper Young died peacefully on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at her sister’s home in Tifton surrounded by her cherished family and her special friend and caregiver, Teresa Jordan. Although she was ninety years of age, she still had her beautiful smile for which she was known.

Born February 5, 1934 in Tampa, Florida, Mary Ann was the eldest of five children to the late Willie Love Skipper and Ruby Pierce Skipper.

Most of Mary Ann’s life was spent in the Morris Bridge area north of Tampa. When she was a young child, the family lived in a plain and modest log house on the Hillsborough River. The Skipper’s spent their evenings sitting around kerosene lamps while her daddy taught her to play the guitar and sing old hillbilly songs and country ballads.

Over the years friends and family were always asking Mary Ann to entertain them and often requested her to play and sing an old favorite “Molly Darling”.

At Thonotosassa, Florida, she attended a four-room school with six grades. Because she was precocious, she excelled in all of her studies there. She also attended Franklin Junior High School from seventh to ninth grades. Before completing high school, Mary Ann made the decision to discontinue her education and to work to help support her family of seven. This decision also allowed her younger sister and brother to graduate high school. She worked several years at Lykes Brothers Meat Packing Company. 

In 1954, she met and married Joseph (Joe) Young and they spent over sixty years together. Their union could well have been called a “lifetime love affair”. They even made plans to be buried side by side in Sunset Memory Gardens in Thonotosassa. Eventually, Joe and Mary Ann retired and together they purchased property in Branchton, Florida, just off of Morris Bridge Road. From their own woods, they cut logs from the long tall swamp palms. They even hired a portable saw mill to set up on their property to fashion the wood for their log cabin.  Her beloved Joe died in 2017 and the unbearable grief caused Mary Ann to have a condition known as “Broken Heart Syndrome”.

In her mid-80’s, Mary Ann went to live with her sister, Ruth, also a widow, her niece Lori and Lori’s family. Due to needing more specialized care, she lived at Legacy Village of Tifton for over a year. She returned home to finish out her days with her sister, niece, and family. 

A short service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at Sunset Memory Gardens in Thonotosassa, Florida where she will be buried beside her husband, Joe. The opening prayer will be given by nephew, Lamar Cherry. The eulogy will be delivered by Mary Ann’s niece, Lori and closing prayer by her dear friend, Debbie Krutsinger. 

In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Vernon and Roy, her sister Joyce, niece Marie and nephew Monroe.

Survivors include Mary Ann’s sister, Ruth Strudivant, sister-in-law, Virginia “Tiny” Skipper, nieces Lori King and Rebekah Cherry. Also, several great nieces and nephews.