From Strunk Funeral Homes & Crematory
Randy O’Day Taliaferro, 74, Vero Beach
April 28, 1947 – March 13, 2022
Randy O’Day Taliaferro, 74, of Vero Beach, Florida passed away in the quiet hours of the evening of Saturday, March 13, 2022 at her home.
Randy was born in Tacoma, Washington and moved to Vero Beach in April of 2021 from Palm Desert, California.
A devoted wife, mother, daughter, and grandmother, Randy was a partner in Talco Inc. which she founded with her husband Doug.
Randy was a faithful member of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach and a proud former member of Ironwood Country Club and Stone Eagle Golf Club. She loved the opportunity to play a round of golf or set of tennis. Living near the ocean offered her the opportunity for the frequent walks on the beach in which she found so much peace.
Survivors include her husband of 45 years Doug Taliaferro and her mother Patricia Mitchell both of Vero Beach, daughter Kimberly Taliaferro of Salt Lake City, Utah sons Richard Taliaferro (Christina) of Fairfield, California and Sean Taliaferro (Kristin) of Santa Monica, California, brother Kevin Monaghan of San Francisco, California, sister Kim Allis (John) of Boston, Massachusetts, and six grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her father Clyde Monaghan.
A funeral mass celebrating her life will be offered beginning at 10 AM, Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Vero Beach.
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From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory
Ray E. Fernald, 66, Fort Pierce
June 06, 1955 – March 02, 2022
Ray E. Fernald, age 66, passed away on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in Florida, where he enjoyed his last four years of retirement with his loving wife, LeeAnne Fernald. His death was unexpected and sudden due to heart complications. He was surrounded by his wife and family members.
Ray was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on June 6, 1955 and graduated from Portsmouth High School, Class of 1973. He was married to Annemarie Birse and had two daughters; they divorced in 1987. He married LeeAnne Bergeron in 1991 and they shared a long and loving marriage. He was a dedicated stepfather to her three children. Ray and LeeAnne lived in Lewiston and Sabattus, Maine until their retirements. They moved to Fort Pierce, Florida to enjoy the warm sunny weather and many walks along the beach.
Ray worked for the Dunkin Donuts Corporation for 35+ years. He was a man of many talents and hobbies. Ray loved music, played the drums professionally and for recreation, and enjoyed giving music lessons. He taught himself to play the piano and guitar. He loved reading classic novels and many other literary genres. Ray enjoyed playing golf, fishing and spending time with new friends and relatives who also lived in Florida. He loved all the holidays as well as spending time with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He had a natural knack for making up many stories for his children and grandchildren. He was a proud Husband, Father, and “Papa.”
Ray is survived by his wife, LeeAnne Fernald and five children; Tammy Clark and husband Laury, Shannon Parsons and husband Steve, David Bergeron and wife Heather, Larry Bergeron and wife Sheila, and Rachael Fernald and partner Sathya; his eldest brother, Walter B. Fernald; seven grandchildren, Brian Clark, Samantha, Dillen, Logan, and Ryan Bergeron, Brigsby and Selah Parsons; and two great-grandchildren, Connor Clark and Jason Mackey. He has two nephews, Anthony and Ritchie Fernald and one niece, Lisa Fernald.
A celebration of life service will be held in Maine in early May.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Portsmouth High School Percussion Ensemble. Please make checks payable to: PHS Percussion Ensemble. Send donations to: PHS Percussion Ensemble, ℅ Steve Cirillo, 50 Andrew Jarvis Drive, Portsmouth, NH 03801.
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From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory
Barbara Riordan Lankford, 92, Vero Beach
April 10, 1929 – March 06, 2022
Barbara Riordan Lankford of Vero Beach, FL died March 6, 2022. Born in Kearny, New Jersey in 1929 to the late Catherine Baker Riordan and Henry Paul Riordan, she moved to Miami, Florida in 1945 where she lived until her retirement to Vero. Barbara’s entire career was school librarian at Blessed Trinity Catholic School in Miami Springs, Florida. She always told children, “If you love to read, you’ll never be lonely.” In retirement in Vero, she joined St. Helen’s Catholic Church where she was very involved including being a member of Council of Catholic Women.
Barbara was married for 66 years to the late Floyd R. “Corky” Lankford. She is survived by her daughters, Kathy Dunleavy (Ray) of Spartanburg, SC and Luanne Wukovits (Ken) of Miami Springs, FL, and daughter-in-law Shelly Lankford of Tampa, FL; sister, Patricia Lucey of Vero Beach, grandchildren Jason Peavy (Rachel) of Columbia, SC, Adam Peavy of Denver, CO, Lauren Borges (Javier) of Miami, FL, Katelyn Knapp (Scott) of Englewood, FL, Amanda Lankford and Paul Lankford of Cayman Islands, and 7 great grandchildren Charlotte, Natalie, Jackson, Beckham, Stella, Emerson, and Isla. In addition to her husband, Barbara was pre-deceased by her son Paul Lankford and her brother Jack Riordan.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 1 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Helen’s Catholic Church, 2085 Tallahassee Avenue, Vero Beach.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to VNA Hospice House 901 37th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960 or St. Helen Catholic School 2025 20th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32960
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From Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory
Yolanda M. Diaz, 80, Vero Beach
July 22, 1941 – March 11, 2022
Yolanda M Diaz, 80 of Vero Beach, passed away on March 11, 2022. Please check back for a more detailed obituary soon.
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From Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory
Robert Joseph Wachter, 71, Sebastian
July 07, 1950 – March 08, 2022
Robert Joseph Wachter – “Bat” – passed peacefully at the age of 71 holding hands with his Wife (only one ever) and Daughter (only one that we know about) on March 8th 2022.
Bat was many things – while being only a small part of many lives, he was a gigantic part of even more.
He was a painter, not one that dabbed on bricks and wood – but an artist, and for his age he was rated pretty good.
Just kidding
But if those words sounded vaguely familiar to you, you knew Bat… or at the very least, you were around him one of the million times he recited the 6 minute poem ”Face on the Bar Room Floor” he memorized… and made his daughter memorize …which made the woman he married fall deeply in love with him, even after his heyday.
In his heyday – he was a younger brother to Billy and Teddy, and an amazing son to his Mother Helen. He graduated Roxbury Highschool in 1968 and it has been said that he had done so many great things for others, we cannot even begin to count them. He built a dock (Deep Hole) for the kids in town so they had somewhere to go, he bought things for people in need without being asked, and those who needed defending – came to find him – because he was the one they could count on.
He was an entrepreneur – running and owning businesses before during and after working hours. Most notably BW Construction Co, The Westmoreland, and allegedly he was major firework supplier to the residents (both in the public and private sector) of Northwest New Jersey.
Besides the construction company and the bar, he had a garage where people could fix their cars or get them fixed, a gym where people could get fit – or hang around and take pictures of themselves in mirrors, and a house where everyone felt welcome – somewhere they could stay when they needed a place to lay their head.
Bob employed A LOT of people… even though we were not always sure what they did. Some did construction, some worked on cars, some worked at the bar, some did “odds and ends” and some joined him when he took his daughter to an amusement park while telling her they were both related to the Pope (also that said employee was a Gladiator, an Astronaut and a fighter pilot during the Civil War).
At the end of the day, all of these people were able to put food on the table for their families.
More on the subject of food, in his heyday he had a lot of animals to feed. A ton of dogs (most of them named Sheba), a cat that he named “little-boy”(potentially due to a lack of creativity) a bunch of ducks, a rabbit, and two horses … Moon Shine and Sun Shine – who resided between the bridges. Later in life he always had a dog and a lot of cats thanks to his beautiful bride.
Bat was a buyer and seller of “things”. From weights, to cars, to fireworks (allegedly), other things with a larger profit margin (allegedly) and everything inside of a storage facility – before it was a trend you could watch on TV.
In addition to buying and selling – he was also a collector of things that didn’t have a home because others had not yet seen their value (potentially because no one wanted them or they were broken, but that is neither here nor there).
In 2013, Bob met his wife Spring while he was living in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Spring saw the best in him, ignored all the red flags, moved up to Sebastian so Bat had a place to keep all of his belongings, and took excellent care of him after becoming very sick in February of 2021.
The legend of Port Morris lived every day as if it was his last. He was an amazing father and husband, but above all else he was a spectacular friend. If you needed anything – he had it – and If he didn’t have it he would find it. Once he found it, he would let you take it… along with the shirt off of his back – because that’s the kind of guy he was.
Robert is survived by his wife Spring Raulerson Wachter; daughter, Taryn Fonticiella (William); granddaughter, Olivia Fonticiella; son, John Melicharek (Dale) step-children, Denise Cook (Joe), and Lauren Peavler (Flip); Sister in-law Rayna Gardner (Gregory); many nieces and nephews including: Heather Wachter Barnette, Theodore Wachter, Billy Wachter, Andrew Wachter, Sonny Kruger, Dee Kruger, Elizabeth McGettigan and Grant Gardner; his best friends Art Boyle and Walt Bell. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen Baewic Wachter (1988); brothers, Billy Wachter and Teddy Wachter; and many close friends who meant so much to him.
Visitation will be held at Seawinds Funeral Home located at 735 S. Fleming Street, Sebastian, Florida 32958 on Saturday March 19, 2022 at 11AM, services will follow at 1PM at Sebastian City Cemetery, 1921 N. Central Avenue, Sebastian, Florida 32958.
Special thanks goes out to the Doctors and Nurses who tended the ICU at Sebastian River Medical Center for bringing him back to life on multiple occasions, so he could live his final months with purpose.
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