Doris Studstill Cruce

Posted on December 10, 2021

Doris Studstill Cruce,
84, of Steinhatchee passed
away on Dec. 7, 2021, after
an extended illness.
Doris was the heart and
soul of her family and will
be greatly missed by all
her family and her many
friends.
She was born in
Greenville to parents Tom
S. Studstill and Ella Lee
Clayton Studstill. She
lived most of her life in
Greenville, until she and
her husband, A.J., moved to
Steinhatchee 15 years ago.
Doris never met a
stranger and made friends
wherever she went. Her
smile and warm personality
would light up any room,
and you would think you
had known her forever.
Doris was the
valedictorian of her
graduating class in 1955.
She played on the girls’
basketball team for four
years and was involved in
many of the academic and
social clubs at school.
She was a Baptist and
spent many hours teaching
Sunday School and
volunteering her time for
the children and youth of
Greenville Baptist Church
when her children were
living at home.
She loved to work in her
yard and had a special eye
for decorating and taking
something that looked
like nothing and making it
special.
She married the love
of her life, John A. “A.J”
Cruce Jr., at the young
age of 14, and they were
married for almost 68 years
before he passed away.
In her later life, her
grandchildren and greatgrandchildren
were the
light of her life, and it
brought her great joy to be
around them.
Doris spent her career
as a bookkeeper in the
timber/lumber business,
mainly having worked for
the various lumber mills
in Greenville prior to her
and A.J. starting their own
logging company where
she handled the financial
ends of the business while
also raising her children
and doing her volunteer
work with church and the
children’s school.
She also kept the books
for her father’s furniture
store and farming business.
In the summer she would
work in her family’s tobacco
farm business during the
day and then shell peas at
night to put in the freezer
because that’s what you did
to make a living and home
for your family. She was
always busy and had more
energy than anyone around
her.
She was preceded in
death by: her husband, John
A. “A.J.” Cruce Jr.; her
parents, Tom S. Studstill
and Ella Lee Clayton
Studstill; and her brother,
Wallace L. Studstill.
She is survived by: her
three children, Sharon C.
Richardson and husband,
Donnie, John W. Cruce and
wife, Kendall, and Adam
Cruce and wife, Brenda;
her seven grandchildren,
Matt Cruce, Kellie C
Gober, Dorie C. Foshee,
Brad Richardson, Melani
Richardson, Adrian Roberts
and Caleb Cruce; her 18
great-grandchildren; one
great-great grandchild; a
brother, Tommy Studstill;
a sister-in-law, Jeri B.
Studstill; and many nieces
and nephews; as well as her
many good friends.
Funeral services will be
held on Tuesday, Dec. 14,
at 11 a.m., with visitation at
10 a.m. prior to the service
at Burns Funeral Home in
Madison.
Interment will follow
at Evergreen Cemetery in
Greenville and afterward,
fellowship will be held at
Greenville Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made
to Greenville Baptist
Church or Aucilla Christian
Academy.