Mary Ella Doubek is remembered as a sharp-minded city clerk, family nurturer and chocolate lover.
By JADE JACKSON LLOYD
Published August 11, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Mary Ella Doubek survived a string of mayors and 25 years as a city clerk.
At work, they knew her as a steadfast woman who knew city ordinances down to the book and page number. Mrs. Doubek became the first recordkeeper for a fledgling St. Pete Beach.
From assistant town clerk of Pass-a-Grille to town clerk, to city clerk of St. Pete Beach, Mrs. Doubek witnessed the evolution of an area and its politics. Through it all, she was always there, ever efficient.
"She grew with the beach as it grew," said Ray Afeld, 67, her son-in-law. "She was instrumental in the way that place went. They went through many, many mayors who said what a great lady she was."
Mrs. Doubek died Monday at age 95 from complications of Alzheimer's disease.
A memorial service will be held from noon to 2 p.m. today at Beach Memorial Chapel, 301 Corey Ave., St. Pete Beach, with burial following at Woodlawn Memorial Park.
Valedictorian of her high school class, Mrs. Doubek never earned a college education. Still, her mind remained sharper than most, Afeld said.
"Any time anybody (would) come in for a problem, the mayor would call Ella and say, "Which book would this be in?' " he recalled. "Instead of Ella going through the book, she'd yell across the room, "It's in ordinance book No. 42!' She had a fantastic memory."
She favored blue suits and pale pink lipstick and rarely expressed anger at anything - a surprise considering the characters who flowed through City Hall, her son said.
"As city clerk down there, she had all the trials and tribulations of all the beach people," said James Doubek Jr., 67, of Lutz.
Eventually, the job got the best of her. After 25 years in City Hall, Mrs. Doubek retired on Dec. 30, 1970. In her letter of resignation, she wrote, "I have no health problems. I'm just tired," the Evening Independent reported.
"She was in very good shape physically, but I think she'd just had enough of doing what she was doing down there," her son said Tuesday. "She needed some R and R."
It took two women to do the work she had done alone, her son-in-law said.
At home, they called her Mama Doub.
They knew her as the gentle wife of an alcoholic husband and the head of a herd of three generations. They saw her as a pioneer of Pass-a-Grille, whose institutional memory dated to the time when mosquitoes swamped the island and air conditioning didn't exist.
As a mother, she indulged her two children, letting them bring stray dogs and cats home and favoring rational conversation over a firm hand. They remember her as a grand spoiler of her eight grandchildren - as long as they visited one at a time.
"She couldn't handle two at a time, so she'd allow us to bring one at a time and she'd spoil the devil out of that one," said Afeld, Doubek's son-in-law of 50 years. "She'd bake them cookies, let them sit on the counter top, things they could never do at home."
She and her fraternal twin, Mildred, who lived in Virginia, took turns visiting each other every year. So close, they were said to have felt each other's labor pains. They inherited a love of English traditions from their London-born and -bred parents, and indulged often in chocolate.
"They would go to the market and buy 2 to 3 pounds of chocolate," Afeld said, laughing. "They loved chocolate. . . . They were very English. They'd have tea and their chocolate. Then they'd have dinner and their chocolate."
She enjoyed her retirement for the next decade, working in her garden and volunteering, her son said. She became active in the American Business Women's Association, the American Legion Auxiliary, Pass-a-Grille Community Church and the International City Clerks Association.
Afeld said the organizations gained what the city lost: an outstanding secretary.
Then her health gave out.
"She was pretty healthy for the next 10 years and then things started to pop," James Doubek said.
His mother suffered a series of small strokes in her 70s that affected her memory. She contracted colon cancer. Then, 12 years ago, Alzheimer's hit and she deteriorated, her son-in-law said.
"For such a brilliant mind, to see it go down the drain, it tears you up," Afeld said.
Even after the illness and the nursing home, Mrs. Doubek's presence comforted her loved ones. Her daughter, Doris Afeld, said she will miss her mother "just being there for everybody."
"Even as she got older, you could just go sit and be peaceful with her," she said Tuesday. "She would always sit and hold your hand. She always had a smile for everybody."
