LITHIA - Ebbie Revell Sheffield, age 99, of Lithia, went to be with the Lord, on Tuesday, April 1, 2008, from natural causes. Mrs. Sheffield was born on April 6, 1908, in Bunker Hill, FL and was a lifelong resident of Lithia. She was a homemaker and a member of the United Family Fellowship Church. She was predeceased by husband James L. Fate and 4 sons: Robert, Preston, John and Ralph. Survivors include: son, Herbert Sheffield of Tampa; daughters: Stella Doerman of Lakeland, Marie Floyd, Mary Williams and Evelyn "Dean" Hall, all of Polk City; 32 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and great great great grandchildren. The family will receive friends on Fri. April 4th. Interment will follow at Pelot Cemetery. She will be missed by everyone.

LITHIA - Birthday present for Church: Before Ebbie Sheffield celebrated her 93rd birthday April 6, she made an audiotape about her memories of a church she has been a member of since 1937. Established in 1905 or 1906 as the Lithia Holiness Church, it is today the Abundant Life Assembly of God. Sheffield taught Sunday School for 53 years in the church. When it marked the 29th anniversary of its May 23, 1972, incorporation as Abundant Life Assembly of God, Sheffield's tape was part of the history archived in the church files. On the tape, Sheffield recalls landmark events, including the building of the parsonage in 1945 when Mayme Williams was Pastor. This isn't the first time Sheffield has found herself a part of local history. As a child, she attended Bunker Hill School, a one-room elementary school in Manatee County. A 1924 photograph shows Sheffield, her 12 classmates and her teacher in front of the wood building. The schoolhouse has been restored and moved to the Historic Park in Bradenton.