Stacy Gulick "Sy" Carkhuff III

MOUNT DORA – Stacy Gulick Carkhuff III, a resident of the area for over twenty years, passed away peacefully at home with his wife by his side on February 26, 2025. He was 87 years old.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Sy was the only child of Mildred Housel Carkhuff and Stacy Gulick Carkhuff, Jr., and the grandson of Stacy Gulick Carkhuff, Sr. who helped establish the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. He will be forever remembered by his loving wife and best friend Angela, his daughters Christine Lindeman (Jacob) of MA and Kelley O'Mara (Patrick) of NY, son John (Catherine) of MA, and stepdaughter Cristina Fantin Gatti of Switzerland, his grandchildren Sarah, Kate, Sean, Carrie, Ben, Jacob and Tommaso. He was predeceased by his son David.
Sy was no ordinary man. He had remarkable charisma and buoyancy of spirit, and you just knew it when he walked into a room. He was funny, he was smart, and he was a man of decency and integrity. He was a great conversationalist and a very good listener. He was brilliantly creative and knew how to solve problems and fix things. He was a big thinker and a risk-taker, persistent, bold, open-minded and inspirational. He was a businessman by vocation, an adventurer by nature and a sportsman by passion, and he found excellence in everything he did.
Formative years spent in military school prepared Sy for an early career in the Army where his fluency in numerous European and middle eastern languages made him a valuable asset as an Intelligence Officer in the Army Security Agency stationed in Germany for several years. Upon his return to Ohio, he began a family and had three children with his first wife while he attended Akron University's College of Business Administration and received a bachelor's degree in business. He went on to earn an advanced degree in global management at the American Institute for Foreign Trade (Thunderbird School) in Phoenix.
Sy's business career flourished as he first found success in his job with Firestone Inter-America and later discovered his calling as a stockbroker at Goodbody & Co. then at Bache & Co. His business acumen also served him well as President of the Akron Cascade Development Association where he spearheaded civic improvement projects. During this time his family also expanded with the birth of his fourth child.
Summers at sailing camp and boating on Lake Erie inspired a great love of sailing and Sy spent many years on sea voyages, circumnavigating the world by 40ft sailboat several times, and working on boat charters with the West Indies Charter Co. His love of sailing fulfilled his need for adventure and exploration, and it defined his life in many ways. His home was a museum of artifacts and souvenirs from decades spent traveling the world. It was between sailing trips that Sy met and married the love of his life, his wife Angela of nearly forty years. They spent several years in Ft Lauderdale in the boating business and many more years on sea journeys until their move to central Florida where they have lived since. The Mount Dora Yacht Club kept them connected to the water and their love of sailing even as they moved inland.
Sy and Angela found their "home" in Mount Dora and over the past two decades have developed cherished friendships and remained very active in their community, where they would be seen meeting and greeting friends new and old on their daily walks through town where they were regulars at Cody's. Poker nights with a group of dear friends kept Sy's mind sharp and his sense of humor on target and he enjoyed that camaraderie immensely. For many years their home in Mt Dora was their base for traveling to visit friends and family and seeing new places. It was also where they continued their lifelong love of sports and discovered a new passion in lawn bowling at the Mount Dora Lawn Bowling Club. Their devotion to the sport and to the club brought them great joy and also great success over the years as they competed in countless local, regional and national tournaments, winning many championships.
Sy Carkhuff was a strong man with a big heart who never met a stranger. He used the power of his life for the lasting good of those he touched, and he created a tremendous legacy in the examples he set and the stories he left behind. If you asked him how he'd like to be remembered he'd tell you first of all as a good and loving husband and father, and also as a decent man who did his best to help other people be and do their best. He will be greatly missed.