BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
Mrs. Georgette Williams was out of town when she learned through a telephone call that Mrs. April Daniels Sanders was being transported to the hospital from her job at DAACO. Within an hour of receiving the call, she learned that Ms. Sanders had died.
Mrs. Williams said Mrs. Daniels Sanders has been married to her son, Terrol Sanders, for nearly 3 years. “I have driven a bus for Greyhound for the past 15 years and I was on my route in Tallahassee when her supervisor called me.”
“I contacted my grandson and he was with her son, Travis George and they went to the hospital. The next thing I knew they called me back around 1 p.m., and said she had died.
“We talked everyday and she was like one of my own daughters. To my knowledge, she had aches and pains like everyone else, but nothing terminal. She had asthma and high blood pressure, but she wasn’t having any major problems that I knew about.” Mrs. Williams said that after her daughter-in-law passed, she contacted the Lake Butler Prison where her son is incarcerated and he gave her power of attorney and guardianship to handle funeral arrangements.
However, she said the insurance company has not paid the claim because the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner has not determined a cause of death.
“I thought I had not understood the coroner, because I was grief-stricken, so I called him back. I was told that it would be 8 to 12 weeks before a cause of death would be known.”
Because of this unexpected turn of events, Mrs. Williams said the family needs help with funeral expenses.
Anyone wishing to contact Mrs. Williams can reach her at (813) 689-1879. Funeral services for Mrs. Daniels Sanders are incomplete. Harmon’s Funeral Home is in charge of handling arrangements.
Ms. Mary Lynn Ulrey, CEO of the Drug Abuse Comprehensive Coordinating Office, Inc., (DACCO), said DAACO has established a fund for Ms. Daniels Sanders’ children and donated the first $500 contribution.
“If someone wants to send a contribution for the children to the memorial fund, make checks payable to: DACCO c/o Lisa Carrier, Human Resources, April Daniels Memorial Fund, 4422 E. Columbus Drive, Tampa, FL 33605.” [private]
Mrs. Williams further stated that Mrs. Daniels Sanders was a native of Queens, New York and she met her son, Terrol, when she was 15. She stated that the two dated and Mrs. Williams and her family moved to Tampa in 1983, and her son and Ms. Daniels Sanders went their separate ways.
Mrs. Williams said Mrs. Daniels Sanders later met and married the father of her three children. She said the two reconnected after several years and began to communicate.
Mrs. Williams said Mrs. Daniels Sanders and her son would have celebrated their 3rd anniversary on August 17th. “It was like their relationship picked right up from where it left off when they were teenagers, and they talked every day.”
She also said her daughter-in-law was working to help with her husband’s appeals.
Mrs. Williams said in addition to her husband, Mrs. Daniels Sanders is survived by two sons, Travis, 22, and Tarron, 7, and 1 daughter, Amaya, 15. She also has one sister, Mrs. Alecia Coleman, of Glen Cove, New York, other relatives and friends. [/private]
