Arthur Sumner Obituary

Arthur Lamar Sumner

5/21/39-12/27/24

Lamar Sumner, surrounded by family and friends, peacefully went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the evening of December 27th in Jacksonville, Florida.

Lamar was 85 years old and was born in Norman Park, Georgia in the family home on May 21st, 1939. He moved to Jacksonville as a young man and graduated from Andrew Jackson High School in downtown Jacksonville. He enlisted in the Air National Guard and was stationed in Colorado. Upon his return home, he started his career with JEA and retired after serving over 25 years. He loved his retirement job with Nemours Children's Hospital and was named "Employee of the Month" on many occasions.

Lamar was a Southern Gentleman who loved country music and Southern food. He had a passion for Georgia Bulldogs football. He was kind to everyone and always had a great story to tell or a joke to make everyone laugh. He had the unique gift of making close friends wherever he lived or traveled and never met a stranger.

Lamar was a self-proclaimed part-time mountain man and a part-time city slicker. While he spent a great amount of his time playing golf all over north Florida, he also loved spending the summer months at the family cabin in the mountains near Franklin, North Carolina. His retreat away from the city life, where he could breathe in the fresh mountain air and enjoy the quiet get-a-way of everyday life in Jacksonville. Some of his favorite activities were feeding the birds and deer while developing ingenious strategies to thwart the attempts of raccoons and squirrels from robbing his feeders. He also had to dodge the occasional bear that ambled through the neighborhood. When asked, Lamar once joked about how big the bear was and he replied, "Full Grown!" Lamar's porch was the gathering place for many of his beloved family and friends. He had a gift for making conversation and seemed to have an endless supply of stories and jokes to share which no-one ever got tired of hearing, including his grandchildren-which he loved seeing and spending time with.

Lamar leaves behind his wife Loretta of 62 years. His daughter Charyl Sumner Smith (Mitchall) his son Stuart Sumner (Catherine) and his predeceased son Carl Sumner. He also leaves behind his devoted and beloved first Granddaughter Kayla Strickland as well as seven other beloved Grandkids; Khloe Strickland, Kaitlyn Strickland, Shawn Sumner, Olivia Sumner, Kyndall Smith, Shayne Cuong, and Sharena Arriola Anson. His legacy lives on also through his three Great Grandkids: Emily-Grace, Alora-Faith, and Addilyn Sue. His entertaining and interesting stories lives on through his very close friends that he considered family; Eloise Williams and Frank Tiller who spent a great amount of time with him and was a tremendous help and aide to him in his later years of life since they lived close-by and loved spending time with him.

Arrangements under the care of Naugle Funeral Home & Cremation Services 1203 Hendricks Ave., Jacksonville, FL. (904)396-1611