William Moody Babbitt 92 years old, residing in DeLand Florida, went to be with
his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on October 30, 2022.
William (Bill) was born on February 9, 1930, in Augusta Ga. He and his family
moved to Flagler Beach FL when Bill was young where he grew up and became
Flagler Beach's first lifeguard. In 1952, he married his one and only true love,
Clarice.
Prior to his marriage to Clarice, Bill served 5 years in the Navy during the Korean
War as a Navy radioman in a P2V Neptune airplane. He was honorably discharged
in January 1952 and spent the rest of his life as an ex-Navy serviceman proudly
wearing his Navy baseball caps and T-Shirts.
He was a Contractor of commercial and residential construction his entire adult
life, completing his last project designing and supervising the building of his
granddaughter's home just one year ago. When he wasn't building projects, he
was in his workshop making wooden furniture for family and friends.
Bill was a man of Faith who trusted God and His ways. Every morning he would
rise early and read his Bible. This gave him an inner strength, peace, and
assurance of his mission in life to share Jesus. His Life Bible verses were
Ephesians 2:8-9. Bill attended Open Bible Baptist Church in Orange City FL.
In August of this year, Bill and Clarice had a weekend celebration of their 70 th
wedding anniversary with their three children and spouses along with Clarice's
sister Janet Geyer of Nappanee IN. who was the flower girl at their wedding. What
a blessing it was to have had that weekend together.
The lifetime relationship of love and respect between Bill and Clarice is like a
storybook. He completely adored Clarice and even after 70 years of marriage still
looked at her with loving eyes.
Bill loved his family and spent every opportunity to be with them. He enjoyed
sports, including playing and watching games on television, especially college
football. His favorite team was the Florida Gators.
He is survived by his wife Clarice; Three children: Brenda Babbitt of South Bend
IN; Vickie (Jeffery) Johnson of Dowagiac MI; Bill (Becky) Babbitt of DeLand FL;
Seven grandchildren: Brad (Katie) Mroczek of Granger IN; Jill (Marcel) Lebbin of
Granger IN; Jeffery (Chanda) Johnson Jr of Indianapolis IN; Ranae (Matthew)

Manchester of DeLand FL; Rachel (Luis) Valencia of DeLand FL; RaeAnna
(Patrick) Parris of Dallas GA; and Ryan Babbitt of Cocoa FL. He is also survived
by 15 great grandchildren and sister Barbara (Judson) Stryker of DeLand, Fl. He
was preceded in death by his parents Arthur and Luna Babbitt; brother, James
(Dorothy) Babbitt; sister, Betty (Lenard) Johnson;

Visitation will be at LOHMAN Funeral Home Located at 935 E. New York Ave.
DeLand, FL 32724 on Thursday November 17, 2022 , from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
The funeral service will be held at Open Bible Baptist Church Located at 2801
Grayson Street, Orange City, FL 32763 on Friday November 18, 2022 , from
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM. Followed by a private family burial at the Cape Canaveral
National Cemetery in Mims FL.

In Lieu of flowers, donations can go to the following:

Open Bible Baptist Church

https://www.openbiblebaptist. com/give

Halifax Hospice

https://halifaxhealth.org/ services/halifax-health- foundation/