UPDATE: Community champion dies at 85 in Ocala (arrangements announced)

Mary Sue Rich was a civic leader and dedicated public servant in Ocala for many years. [John Jernigan/Ocala Style file photo]

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Posted December 18, 2025 | By Susan Smiley-Height, magnoliamediaco.com

UPDATE: Friday, Dec. 26, 2025: 9:28am

According to information on the Speaks Funeral Home & Cremations website, visitation in memory and honor of Mary Sue Rich will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2, at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, 718 NW 7th St., Ocala. A celebration of life will begin at noon on Saturday, Jan. 3, at Central Christian Church, 3010 NE 14th St., Ocala.

To share a memory or learn more, go to speaksfunerals.com/obituaries/The-Honorable-Mary-Sue-Rich?obId=46747149

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:

Matriarch, trailblazer, teacher, community advocate, public servant, lover of people — all of these are descriptive of Mary Sue Rich.

Rich, who passed away in Ocala on Dec. 18 at the age of 85, surrounded by her loving family, led a life filled with accomplishments, including being elected in 1995 as the first Black woman on the Ocala City Council.

She represented District 2, which encompasses the city’s west side. Following 24 years of distinguished service, she left the seat in 2019 after she chose not to seek re-election.

Rich was born in Ocala and was adopted as an infant. She was married to Franklin R. Rich for 52 years, until he passed away in 2011. The couple had four children, nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

“When I was growing up, State Road 40 was an unpaved road,” she recalled in an article about her in the “Gazette’s” sister publication, “Ocala Style” magazine. “The city was also segregated and a lot of people believed in that. I’ve seen a lot of growth, most of it for the betterment of Ocala. I’ve really enjoyed being on the council and have met a lot of wonderful people,” she said, emphasizing that serving is about many people working together rather than anything she accomplished as an individual.

Rich earned a degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Florida and worked for the Florida Department of Corrections as a correctional probation senior supervisor. She retired in 2003, after 27 years with the department. She was instrumental in starting 1st Step Inc. and served as president for nearly 20 years. She received Distinguished Service Awards from the Florida Council on Crime and Delinquency and Central Florida Community College.

She was involved organizations including Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) a local Weed and Seed Task Force to help “weed out” crime and “seed in” positive actions. She received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from United Way of Marion County in 2005. For years, she chaired the Racial Harmony and Cultural Awareness Task Force, which she helped start in the early 2000s, inspired by a lecture on racism she heard at a national event.

On Jan. 10, 2023, Rich was front and center for the grand opening of the Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, at 1821 NW 21^st Ave., Ocala. The venue is named honor of Rich and Ruth Reed.

Reed, who lives nearby, was the power behind a campaign to improve the health and wellness of her family and neighbors in the wake of a charcoal plant opening down the street. The Royal Oak charcoal plant was seen as an asset in 1975 but later was considered to have a detrimental effect on the community. Residents said soot and ash from the plant would cover their vehicles overnight and coat the outsides of their homes. Though not proven medically, many residents who developed chronic respiratory conditions or cancer blamed their health issues on the emissions and pollution the plant produced.

Reed formed the Neighborhood Citizens of Northwest Ocala. That group and Wild Law, a nonprofit organization focused on environmental protection, lobbied the Ocala City Council to try to clean up the plant’s operations. The City Council wrote letters to the DEP and to state and federal elected officials. The DEP soon found nine potential violations, including that the plant was emitting a hazardous amount of the pollutant methanol and not reporting it in permit applications. In December 2005, the Roswell, Georgia-based Royal Oak Enterprises announced it would close the Ocala plant by the end of February 2006 due to higher operating costs and environmental issues caused by the poor quality of the raw materials used in the production of charcoal, the reports state.

“I remember the emissions from that charcoal plant,” Rich recalled in the article in “Style.” “You would wake up in the morning, and your car and house would be covered with ash and soot.”

Rich also recalled years of involvement with Reed’s nonprofit group and city and state agencies in investigating the allegations about the plant.

“A number of people were involved with that plant for years, but it was Ruth Reed who never gave up,” Rich said in the “Style” article.

After the plant closure, the city bought the property.

“We bought it to secure it for the future,” Rich said. “And then somebody brought up the idea of putting a community center there.”

In August of 2018, Reed was at the controls of a piece of heavy equipment that began to rip panels off the façade of the main building at the abandoned plant. A cloud of black soot roiled the air. Rich was standing by watching and applauding.

Reed Place spans 24.5 acres in the West Ocala Community Redevelopment Area. The land was acquired from Royal Oak. The community center is sited on approximately 10 of those acres. The center offers a wide range of activities, serves as a community hub and is the home of the Sankofa Public Library.

Rich, who remained involved with the city and her church, even while on dialysis three times a week and recovering from knee surgery, said in the magazine article that the community center will be her physical legacy, but she hopes her personal legacy will be that she’s “been involved with so many things to enhance the lives of people in Ocala, to make things better for them.”

She said her dedication and motivation to advance the quality of life here stemmed from her love of her community.

“Ocala was a great place to raise my children. It’s not a big city and it’s not a small country town,” she offered. “I just want people to enjoy living in this beautiful part of the country.”

On Jan. 31, the ballroom at the Ocala Hilton was filled with colleagues, friends and family members there to honor the beloved community leader. The event, hosted by the City of Ocala Municipal Government, was a benefit to help fund an endowment for the Mary Sue Rich Scholarship at the College of Central Florida, where Rich earned her degree.

FAMILY REMEMBRANCES

On Thursday, Franklin Rich said by phone that some of his fondest memories of his mother were spending summer vacations together.

“I spent most of my adult life in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She loved to come to Minnesota to visit me. I played sports at Vanguard. I played on a state championship basketball team, played football, and he would always be at my games cheering me on. I could always hear her voice over the crowd’s voice,” he shared.

“One of the biggest life lessons she taught me is that everybody matters. She was a people person. She was all about community; all about helping people. That’s what she has given me most, compassion for those who are less fortunate. And just making a difference in the lives of those that we can,” he added.

Krysia Rich, one of Rich’s three daughters, said her mother taught her to “always be honest and move with integrity. She had a heart for people. That’s why she was active in the community.”

When asked what her mother’s legacy will be, she replied, “Her legacy will be her community service. Throughout her career she worked with people, so her activity in the community. To want to better the lives of the people in the community.  And she valued diversity.”

Krysia said her mother taught her children to “Do your best. Always try. Don’t give up.”

“She loved her community and enjoyed living in her community. That’s why she never moved away and always stayed where she was born. She loved the community and all people,” Krysia added.

“She was a lifelong Ocala resident. Wherever she traveled through the League of Cities, she always represented and spoke highly of and worked hard for the city of Ocala. She was very passionate about it everywhere she went,” Franklin noted.

COMMUNITY MEMBERS REFLECT

Karla Greenway is the chief executive officer of the nonprofit Interfaith Emergency Services, one of the largest such organizations in the area, which helps thousands of people with a wide range of services. The IES administrative office and an adjacent food distribution warehouse and client services center are located in West Ocala.

“She was a champion for her community. And was courageous enough to step into leadership roles that were traditionally held by men,” Greenway shared via a text message.

“I’m grateful for the path she paved for others. And as someone who serves in the community that she represented. I am so grateful for her dedication to our neighbors here in West Ocala. She has left a heart-print on this community that will last forever.”

Monica Bryant Monica Bryant is the Family Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Marion County Children’s Alliance and knew Rich for many, many years.

“Ms. Rich was a mentor to a lot of young women like me. She was an example of what true leadership looked like, and she served with a servant’s heart. She showed us that sometimes you have to stand for what you believe in, even if you had to stand alone. She loved her family and she loved this community. This is a tremendous loss for all of us,” Bryant shared via text.

Cynthia Wilson Graham is a noted businesswoman, author, photographer, educator and community advocate. She also has known Rich for a number of years.

“Mary Sue Rich left an indelible mark on Marion County as a trailblazing leader,” Graham offered in a text message. “Her remarkable career was defined by her unwavering commitment to doing what was right, even in the face of adversity. As a woman in a male-dominate field, she broke down barriers and inspired countless others, including me, to follow in her footsteps as a community leader.”

Editor’s note: This article will be updated when funeral arrangements are completed.