Sondra Lane Kendrick Risley passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 30,2021, at CERTUS Premier Memory Care, in Mount Dora, Florida, where she had been a resident since September 2019.

As a devout Christian who had a personal and enduring relationship with Jesus Christ, upon being absent from the body, she was present with the Lord. Sondra was born in Georgiana, Butler County, Alabama on February 21, 1935, to James Leonard Kendrick and Mary Lou Sandusky Kendrick of Garland, Alabama.

She began her education in rural Garland's one-room schoolhouse, an experience which made it possible for her to advance directly from the first to the third grade.

Her family moved from south central Alabama to Florida where her father accepted a job with the Florida East Coast Railroad in Fort Pierce, Florida in new construction of railroad tracks. He became a foreman of track maintenance which entailed frequently moving up and down the Atlantic coastline, from Port St. Lucie, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and as far south as Miami.

Following her graduation from Fort Pierce High School at 17 years of age, Sondra continued her education at Florida State University (FSU) where she was active in campus organizations, including the Baptist Student Union (BSU), and served as the president of her dormitory in her junior and senior years.

It was during this time that she met her future husband, Floyd Sylvanus Risley, also a BSU leader.

Her spiritual growth and social life developed around activities in BSU and the First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, where she was the Training Union Director in the college department.

Sondra and then-US Air Force Lieutenant Floyd Risley were married on May 3,1955, at Travis Air Force Base, California prior to Floyd's deployments to Korea and Japan.

Upon her graduation from FSU from which she earned a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education, Sondra joined Floyd in Gifu, Japan for the balance of his three years active duty. After Floyd separated from active duty, Floyd's careers with the J.C. Penney Company and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service took Sondra and the family to Albany, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; and Farmingdale, New York; before they returned to Floyd's hometown of Mount Dora, Florida, in 1972.

While living in Mount Dora, Sondra was a part-time substitute teacher in Mount Dora's public schools. Sondra and Floyd were volunteer ministers in an independent church fellowship in Orlando, Daytona Beach, and Deland for more than thirty years.  During this time, they spent a year at Headwater's Ranch Christian Community in Pink Mountain, British Columbia, and frequently participated in church conventions in Lubbock, Texas; Canton, Ohio; and Bowen's Mill, Georgia.

Sondra was a devoted wife, a nurturing mother, an immaculate housekeeper, a gracious hostess, a keeper of confidences, a compassionate listener, a sage counselor, a time-share maven, and an adventurer who loved to travel but hated to fly.

Her quick wit and infectious smile were only surpassed by her acute spiritual insight. Perhaps most importantly, Sondra studied to show herself approved unto God, a workman who need not be ashamed, who rightly divided the word of truth. She fought a good fight, she finished her course, and she kept the faith.

Sondra was preceded in death by her parents, and her brothers J. Philmore Kendrick and L. Gilbert Kendrick. She is survived by husband Floyd; sons F. Scott Risley (Annette) and Shawn L. Risley (Shelly); sister-in-law Carol B. Kendrick, lifelong friend K. Mozelle "Mo" Clark; grandchildren Laura E. Risley, Bethany M. Cromer (Nate), Christopher S. Risley, Justin K. Risley, Evan N. Risley, Siena L. Risley (Zhenya), Elaina M. Risley, Seth L. Risley, and greatgrandchildren Eleanor R. Cromer, Zayden D. Parker, and Winston S. Cromer.

A memorial service and celebration of Sondra's life will be held at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of October 9, 2021, in Pavilion 1, at Trimble Park, 5802 Trimble Park Road, Mount Dora, Florida, 32757.