Shirley Bloodworth’s legacy was remembered Friday at The Village Tower Club in a celebration of her life with the announcement of a perpetual plaque in her honor that will go up on the wall of the Alachua County Senior Recreation Center.

Bloodworth, a former nurse who worked as a community scientist since 2015, recently passed away peacefully at 95. She was a stalwart of the healthcare community who devoted much of her energies (and anyone who knew Shirley knew she had a lot of energy) to aging issues.

A highlight of the event was the announcement that the Senior Recreation Center would be sponsoring the award and placing a plaque in the main entrance in Bloodworth’s memory.

“We wanted to make sure people could see the plaques,” said Kacy Ealy, executive director of the Division of Business Development for UF Health’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, when she addressed the crowd. “It’s very special, and we made sure her beautiful smiling face is there as a reminder to all of us.”

Ealy and Senior Recreation Manager Nicholas Hauzer held up the plaques that will honor Bloodworth. Hauzer said another ceremony would be held at the center when the plaques are ready to go up.

Leilani Doty, retired director of UF’s Cognitive & Memory Disorder Clinic, helped organize Friday’s memorial, along with Bloodworth’s daughter Beverly Alexander, who attended the event along with other family members.

“Since Shirley Bloodworth had had a lifetime of service to so many, identifying community needs, especially older persons and the underserved, and networking with people to address the need, a group of us wanted to set up a way to honor her legacy and encourage as well as honor similar others each year in Shirley’s memory,” Doty said. 

It was a joyous occasion as Bloodworth’s life was remembered. A table display in the back showed photos of Bloodworth and her many awards. It even included baskets that held boxes of M&M candies and Tic-Tacs, which attendees could take home because they were “Shirley’s favorites.”

Rather than mourning Bloodworth, speakers and those in the audience shared happy stories about her and her well-lived life. Hundreds of people were there to recall something special about their encounters with Bloodworth. 

One that stood out was Maureen Killoran, 80, who met Bloodworth at an improv class at The Village, where Bloodworth took up residence a few years ago. Bloodworth, who wasn’t afraid of anything, openly said that the improv terrified her.… But she came every week anyway. That kind of courage is one of the most admirable things I’ve seen. I described her as a ‘force of nature,’” Killoran said.

Gainesville resident Shirl Ellis said she first “met” Bloodsworth more than 60 years ago on the day of her birth. Ellis’ mother named her baby daughter after her attending nurse, no other than Shirley Bloodsworth.

“She met July 31, 1964, and I met her on Aug. 7, 2024,” Ellis said. “Those of you who have known Miss Shirley longer know she was a very special person. I will forever keep her in my heart.”

Retired UF professor Jon Rieskind said Bloodworth was a real force in his life, thanking her for reaching out to him when his wife, Julia Rieskind, died in July 2020.

“She got me involved, which applies to many of us,” he said as the crowd of several hundred laughed.

Rieskind and Bloodworth worked in the Community Coalition for Older Adults at the Senior Recreation Center for many years. 

“Shirley Bloodworth turned me into what my granddaughter calls a small-town celebrity,” said retired Santa Fe educator Donna Waller. Bloodworth convinced Waller to help create a weekly civics class for seniors after the 2016 presidential elections. “I never believed that in my 70^th decade, I would meet someone who would be a teacher to me.”

Author and aging expert Star Bradbury closed the event with another tribute to Bloodworth.

“She was my mentor, my role model, and I used to call her my poster child for aging successfully,” Bradbury said. “She used to tell me I am never moving into a senior community. That’s not for me. But when she changed her mind, that was true courage. I am never leaving my house.”

But she did.

I’m a latecomer to the Shirley Bloodworth fan club. I was lucky enough to get to know her in the last two years of her life when I began writing my Aging Matters series. Bloodworth was a matriarch of the aging-in-place movement in the Gainesville area.

She lived in Turkey Creek Forest, another retirement community, for 40 years until deciding two years ago that it wasn’t right for her anymore.

“You stay in place until…” Bloodworth told me then with an easy laugh, “Meaning until it becomes too much for you. In other words, there is no right or wrong.”

Although it had to occur sometime, we were all surprised when we lost Bloodworth as she was going so strong until the end. The last time I saw her was at an event about community hospice that she invited me to attend. She reminded me then that we would need to get together again for lunch soon. Sadly, it never happened.