Lieutenant Commander Willard Wood Ayres (August 25, 1910 – October 24, 1988)
Lt. Cmdr. Willard Ayres
Lt. Cmdr. Willard Ayres’ obituary appeared in an unknown edition of The Gainesville (FL) Sun:
Willard Ayres, co-founder of UF’s Blue Key, dies at 78
OCALA – Willard W. Ayres, co-founder of the University of Florida’s Blue Key and past president of the alumni association, died Monday in Ocala. He was 78.
Mr. Ayers also was a former Ocala mayor and former Florida legislator.
Born in Boundbrook, Mr. Ayres moved from Bartow to Ocala in 1946. He graduated from Miami Senior High in 1928, then graduated from UF’s Teacher’s College in 1932.
After teaching for a year at Reddick High, he attended UF law school, graduating in 1936.
In the 1950s, Mr. Ayers served two terms on the Florida House of Representatives and was the city attorney for MacIntosh, Belleview, and Dunnellon at the same time. He became mayor of Ocala in 1964 and served as the Marion County attorney from 1965 to 1975.
He was credited for smoothing transition of racial upheaval during the 1960s by spearheading a committee of black and white leaders and starting a jobs program that got streets paved. He also promoted annexation legislation that doubled the size of Ocala.
A member of the Grace Episcopal Church, Mr. Ayers was a former Lt. Commander in the Navy, where he served during World War II.
He is survived by his wife, Margaret Palmer of Ocala; two sons, Benjamin H. Ayres and Willard Ayres Jr., both of Ocala; a daughter, Imogene Ayres of San Francisco; two brothers, Wendell Ayres of Ormond Beach and Jordan Ayres of Kansas City, Mo.; and three grandchildren.