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Dover strawberry farmer celebrated by community for dedication since 1964

By Jason Wright
Published  March 1, 2025 3:36pm EST
Hillsborough County
FOX 13 News

Paying tribute to Dover strawberry farmer

FOX 13's Jason Wright caught up with a the family of a beloved member of Three Son Farms who has been a key to the farm since 1964.

The Brief

    • A Dover strawberry farmer was celebrated by the community for her dedication since 1964, after she passed away on Feb. 20.
    • Geraldine Williams helped create recipes that are a part of the daily items served at the produce stand.

DOVER, Fla. - A Dover strawberry farmer was celebrated by the community on Thursday for her dedication since 1964, after she passed away on Feb. 20.

February always meant hard work paid off for Geraldine Williams.

The business of filling orders and creating all the wonderful desserts that the strawberries were a part of was a part of her routine every day.

A Dover strawberry farmer was celebrated by the community on Thursday for her dedication since 1964.

This year, Geraldine, or Memaw, as she was affectionately known, took part in a different celebration. 

It was a celebration of her life, a life well lived, and the crop left behind wasn't just in the strawberry fields full of fruit, but in the lives of her sons, their wives, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

READ MORE: 93-year-old strawberry farmer mentors generations for the future

She was kinda the backbone of the fruit stand. She loved to associate with people, recalled Gerald Williams. "She would talk to anyone, she loved the children that would come out."

The backstory:

Gerald runs Three Son Farms in McIntosh Station. It's part of the same land that his mother worked on.

"She's always taught us to work hard, to be honest, and she was just a great woman all together," he said.

The recipes she helped create are a part of the daily items served at the produce stand this time of year.

"She was always striving to work hard, you know, love God and just be honest and be a good person," shared her son.

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Some of the best lessons she taught didn't have to do with plowing the fields or tending the land, but rather, paying attention to the body and spirit.

The family welcomes customers who became her friends to visit them at Three Son Farms.

A Dover strawberry farmer was celebrated by the community on Thursday for her dedication since 1964.

The goodies she helped create are for sale or visitors as they look at the fresh fields from the produce stand sitting area.

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The Source: Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Jason Wright.

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