Elizabeth Anne Stanley-Keith's Obituary
Elizabeth Anne Stanley-Keith, long time Keys resident passed away peacefully during the early morning hours of Thanksgiving, November 23, 2023, at her daughter’s Islamorada home. Elizabeth, known to the family as Betty or Betty Anne, was born in Jacksonville, Fla., September 23, 1933, the third daughter, to Arlo Duncan Chesebrough and Louise Elizabeth Floyd. Elizabeth was a woman of deep faith. She trusted God and faced the many adversities of her life with Hope. As a young child Elizabeth was often shuttled from one relative’s home to another to live, spending her formative years residing with her oldest sister and her husband and their two daughters, Billie, and Bobbie, who were more like sisters to her than nieces. Upon her completion of middle school in Jacksonville, Fla., Elizabeth attended Montreat School for Girls, a Christian school in Montreat, NC where she was a member of the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship Organization and “Chief” of her basketball team. In the late forties Elizabeth moved to the Florida Keys to be with her mother who was then living in Marathon and began attending The Convent of Mary Immaculate in Key West where she graduated from in 1951. While at CMI she continued playing basketball and was a member of Quill and Scroll, the international honorary society for high school journalists. Elizabeth completed her formal education at Barry College (now Barry University), a private Catholic university in Miami, Fla. Elizabeth met her first husband, a divorcee with two children, in Jacksonville, Fla. They married in 1954 and at the youthful age of twenty-one she became an instant mom to two boys, ages three & five, whom she raised as her own. The boys were joined 5 years later by sister, Rhonda. In 1977 Elizabeth found herself in need of reinvention. Thus began her decades-long career as a successful real estate broker. She returned to the Florida Keys where she opened her own real estate company and was actively involved in many organizations including The Century Chapter of Business Professional Women, Women’s Council of Realtors, The Upper Keys Rotary, from which she was a recipient of The Paul Harris Fellow Award; she served on The American Red Cross Disaster Assessment Team and was a member of The League of Women Voters. She was a Director of United Way of Monroe County, and the President in 1989. Elizabeth served as a director for several years and then became President of the Florida Keys Board of Realtors in 1991. She also served on the state level for the Florida Association of Realtors Professional Standards and Education Committees. She was honored to have been one of the representatives of The National Association of Realtors’ visit to China in 1983, one of the first US trade organizations to do so. While Elizabeth was a mentor to many, and enjoyed working and giving back to her community, what brought her the most joy was her grandchildren. “Mimi” was her proudest title. Elizabeth is predeceased by husbands Ronald E. Stanley of Dade City, Fla., and Carl Osteen Keith of Islamorada, Fla., sisters Martha Louise Harvey of Jacksonville, Fla., Catherine Jean Peake of Cocoa, Fla., stepsons Gary E. Stanley of Tampa, Fla., and Michael K. Keith of Lagrange, GA., grandsons Marshall Carlton Simonds of Islamorada, Fla., and Jon E. Stanley of West Palm Beach, Fl. She is survived by her daughter Rhonda Louise Simonds-Brewer (Craig) of Islamorada, grandson Arlo B. Simonds of Ft. Myers, grandson Brent E. Stanley of Colorado, granddaughter Trina Oquendo (Angel) of Pennsylvania, grandson Sean E. Stanley of West Palm Beach, Fla., daughter-in-law Sherri Harper Keith, of Lagrange, Ga., sister-in-law Martha Cale, Islamorada, Ed Cale (Dawn) Islamorada, Cheyenne Cale of Gainesville, Fla., as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, great-grandchildren, and several lifelong friends whom she considered family. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 6th, 2024, at The Historic Matecumbe Methodist Church at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to Chapters Health Hospice Florida Keys (chaptersfoundation.com) in Elizabeth’s name, or to HanleyFoundation.org in the name of her grandson, Marshall C. Simonds; or MarrVelous Pet Rescues, www.mprescues.org in the name of Elizabeth’s dog, Skipper, or please donate to any charity of your choice.
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