Well-Known Brandon Educator Lyle Flagg Dead at 85

Lyle Flagg served as principal of Brandon, Armwood and East Bay high schools.

Family, friends and former students are mourning the death of longtime Brandon educator Lyle Flagg, who died Tuesday, May 21 at the age of 85. Born Jan. 13, 1928 to Forrest and Louise Flagg in Fayette, Maine, Flagg served in the Navy during World War II and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Maine. In 1954, he moved his family to Brandon where he served 40 years with the Hillsborough County School System and was a longtime member of Nativity Catholic Church. During his tenure as an educator, Flagg was principal of Pinecrest High School, Dowdell Junior High School, Brandon High School from 1968-74, East Bay High School, Armwood High School from 1984-90, and was the director of secondary education for the …

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Obituaries: Denisco, Malpeli, Taylor

The following obituaries honor people who recently passed away who had ties to the Brandon area.

The following links will take you to the complete obituaries for the following people. May they rest in peace. Virginia P. Taylor passed away May 18, 2013. Robert Eugene Denisco passed away May 16th. Henry Malpeli passed away May 15, 2013.

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Cancer Fighter's Legacy Lives On in A New You Pink Boutique

Lisa Minnifield's sisters vow to keep open A New You Pink Boutique in Brandon, founded by Minnifeld to minister to women, young and old, in their battles against breast cancer. She died April 8.

  At A New You Pink Boutique in Brandon, the drive to succeed remains as strong as ever despite the April 8 death of its co-founder, Lisa Minnifield. And that's how it should be, said Darlene Gaylord, a banker at the next-door Centre State Bank, where a fund in Minnifield's name has been started, in lieu of funeral flowers. "She was a ball of energy," Gaylord said about Minnifield the business woman, and Minnifield the missionary. "Heaven had to be busy with it when she came through the doors." Minnifield's sister, Carol Poole, said at the boutique April 15 that Minnifield had one overriding passion: "She loved people," said Poole, who co-founded the boutique with her sister. "She was very concerned about the welfare and care of people …

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Deputy Justin Hancock Loses Battle With Cancer at Age 33

Funeral services will be held today, April 12, at Bell Shoals Baptist Church followed by a burial at Serenity Meadows in Riverview.

Justin Hancock, 33, of Valrico was diagnosed with bone cancer in June and underwent treatment at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. A Deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office, Hancock bought a small fixer-upper home two weeks before he was diagnosed, according to his friend, Deputy Jim Brodie. On Sunday, April 9, Hancock lost his battle with cancer. He is survived by his parents, Garry and Kathy Hancock, his sister, Courtney Rankin (Mitchell), his niece, Charley according to serenitymeadows.com. The posting on the website says"Justin died as he lived; with humor, valor and grace."  A former minor league baseball player from the Greater Brandon area, Hancock was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels when he graduated from …

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Mother Killed in Crash With Baby Is Identified

Authorities were able to locate the surviving child's grandmother, after her mother died in the single-car crash.

The mother who died in a single-car crash, with her baby suffering only minor injuries, has been identified as Olga Noemi Valentin. Valentin died at the accident scene on State Road 60 east of South Ware Boulevard, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.  Traffic investigators aren't sure why Valentin's Monte Carol drifted into the center median early Monday, April 1. According to investigators, she over-corrected, causing her car to spin out of control. The Chevy then veered across the eastbound lanes and overturned several times. Valentin, who was no wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the vehicle. Her six-month-old daughter had minor injuries ad taken to Tampa General Hospital. Investigators said that the child was properly restrained …

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Funeral Services Set for Longtime Brandon Businessman

Wilfredo Sosa, owner of Universal Pawn and Gun Range in Brandon, died March 28.

Family and friends will gather April 3 to celebrate the life of Wilfredo Sosa, a longtime Valrico resident and owner of Universal Jewelry, Pawn and Gun Range in Brandon. Sosa died March 28 at the age of 78. Sosa started his pawn shop and gun range in 1997 at 990 W. Brandon Blvd., Brandon, and was a member of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce. A devoted husband, father and grandfather, he is survived by his wife, Cira Onelia Sosa; sons, William, married to Brandon attorney Melissa Sosa, and Wilfredo, married to Lyzette Sosa; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and a niece, Dania Caballero. A visitation will take place Tuesday, April 2 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Gonzalez Funeral Home, 7209 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. …

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Memorial Announced for Sinkhole Victim

Jeffrey Bush's family has disclosed the details of a public celebration of his life. Bush lost his life Feb. 28 in a sinkhole in Seffner, at 240 Faithway Drive.

The family of Jeff Bush – killed when a sinkhole opened up under his bedroom – announced Tuesday that a public celebration of the Seffner man's life will be held March 19. According to WTSP.com, the memorial service will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, March 19, at Bell Shoals Baptist Church, 2102 Bell Shoals Road in Brandon. The service will be inside the chapel. The family is asking that in lieu of flowers to send donations to the Brandon Foundation's Sinkhole Family Relief Fund, WTSP.com reports. Send the checks to: Brandon Foundation Attn., Sinkhole Family Relief PO Box 3197 Brandon, FL 33509 For more information Need more information on Bell Shoals Church, you can find it in our Patch directory. ______________ BRANDON PATCH SEFFNER SINKHOLE …

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What's Hillsborough Saying?

Longtime Local Leader Mourned

Former Hillsborough County Administrator Fred Karl died March 7.

Hillsborough County is mourning the loss of one its longstanding leaders today, March 7. Fred Karl, a former county administrator, county attorney, state legislator and Florida Supreme Court justice, was 88. A Daytona native, Karl served as an Army tank commander in World War II and was present at the Battle of the Bulge, according to The Tampa Tribune. His public service career continued long after the war was over. The Stetson Law graduate served in the Florida House from 1956-64 when he attempted a bid for the governor’s office. After that, he ran for the Florida Senate in 1968 and served until 1971, according to web sources. Karl then sat on the Florida Supreme Court from 1977 until 1978 when he opted to go back into private practice. …

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D'Ann White

1:45 pm on Thursday, March 7, 2013

I was a county commission reporter at the time Fred Karl, who had already retired as a Supreme Court justice, agreed to come out of retirement and help out Hillsborough County at a time when growth and, unfortunately, graft were rampant. I was, frankly, in awe of this guy who'd been an Army tank commander at the Battle of the Bulge, a state legislator and Supreme Court justice. But during his …   more ›

Retired After 52 Years on the Job, Beloved Plant City Cashier Dies

The Greater Plant City community is mourning the death of Betty Davis, who reportedly started her career as a cashier in 1959 and retired in 2011. She died Feb. 23 at age 72.

  Betty Davis, "who endeared herself to generations of Plant City shoppers during more than a half century as a supermarket cashier," died on Satuday, Feb. 23, according to a report posted by Dave Nicholson at TBO.com. The report is circulating on Facebook, with those who knew her adding their voices to those of who reportedly went "out of her way to go through her line," when she worked at "Sweetbay and its corporate predecessors, Big Barn and Kash n' Karry," according to the TBO.com report. "She was such a sweetheart," said Cynthia Dross, in a Facebook post. "Thanks Miss Betty for all the love." "I am heartbroken," said Kim Miller, in her Facebook post. "Miss Betty was so sweet. She will be missed." ______________ More to come.

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