This obituary has been added to our website as a courtesy to the Skinner Family. Mr. Skinner's daughter and her family (Kathy and Arnold Avriett) were longtime residents of Jasper and they will always be family to us. Our prayers go out to Kathy, Arnold and Michelle and the entire Skinner Family and Suwannee County as they mourn the loss of this great man.

Fain Skinner, age 94, Live Oak, Florida peacefully passed away on February 21, 2023. Fain was a lifelong resident of Live Oak, he was born on July 17, 1928, in Suwannee County to Reuben and Kizzie Kent Skinner. On August 6, 1954, he and the former Thelma Walker of Perry, Florida vowed to love, honor, and cherish one another until parted by death and they did just that.

Born during the Great Depression led to a lifetime of frugality or as his children liked to say, "He was a tightwad". The one price he didn't care about was that of kindness. Undoubtedly, this was a great example he set for his two younger brothers. Perhaps this trait is what also led to a life of service. He began his military career with three enlistments in the Active Army. Over this time, he served in the United States, Italy, and Hawaii before it became the 50th State. Fain enlisted in the Florida National Guard in 1958 with Company A, 187th Tank Battalion, and was promoted to Sergeant with the 269th Engineer Company. Throughout this time, he seamlessly stepped from one type of service into another, working at the Suwannee County Hospital, the County maintenance department, and the county vehicle inspection station. He took pride in his work and was such a stickler at the vehicle inspection station that he failed to pass his own son's truck because of its bald tires. He warned Ronnie not to bring it back until they were replaced. During this time, he also attended night school and received his GED in 1973 just a few days before his oldest child, Kathy, received her high school diploma. After 33 years of work, he retired as an employee of Suwannee County, but to him, the job wasn't over. For many years after retirement, he spent countless hours assisting the Supervisor of Elections office with placing and picking up voting machines throughout the county. On election day he would also be the proud Veteran standing at the door to hand you your "I voted" sticker. He loved his family more than anything and figured if they were going to learn to do things they might as well learn from the best, which is why he insisted on being the one to teach his youngest son, Cog, how to water ski. Racing wasn't his specialty but that didn't stop him from watching Cog go around the track and having his picture snapped with his son holding the checkered flag was the highlight of the night for him. When his wife Thelma could have him to herself, they would travel to Camp Blanding, the Great Smokey Mountains, or the Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park to camp. More Sundays than not you would find them at Westwood Baptist Church, where they were long-time members and Fain served as an usher. After Thelma passed and his memory began to fade family members would still take him to church as much as possible and he would comment on how kind all the members were and that he liked going to this "new" church. He always enjoyed the sermons but got a little antsy when the clock struck 12:01. Time was ticking and he had to beat the other Baptist to the Dixie Grill to grab his dessert from the buffet before they ran out. When Fain could no longer drive, he would be chauffeured to Suwannee River Economic Council so he could continue volunteering in the senior center, as long as he could still lift a hand, he would lift it in kindness.

He was the definition of a true man. He was a man of integrity, responsibility, and hard work. He loved a good joke and his shoulders would bounce up and down whenever he laughed. The only time you might find him with his head hanging low was when he was looking for money on the ground or bending over to pick up cans to take to the recycling center to exchange for a little bit of pocket change. As his memory continued to fade, deep down he remained the same- caring, loving, and kind. How we live now, going forward, is a part of his legacy, and those three things and living a life of service are what he believed in the most.

Fain is survived by his two sons: Ronnie (Suellen) Skinner and Bruce "Cog" (Melaine) Skinner, both of Live Oak, and his daughter: Kathy (Arnold) Avriett of Byron, GA. He was affectionately known as "Poppy" by his three grandchildren: Michelle (Dwayne) Wagner of Bryon, GA, Fain (Hannah) Skinner of Live Oak, Stevie Skinner of Live Oak, and five great-grandchildren: Kole and Kale Skinner, Cayden Wagner, Kensley, and Ryleigh Dasher. Fain was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Claude and Clayton Skinner, an infant sister, Dorothy, and his wife of 58 years: Thelma Walker Skinner.

A celebration of life service was held on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at Daniels Funeral Home.

Burial followed with full military honors at Live Oak Cemetery.