James Harmon Lybass, Jr. of Dunnellon, Florida passed away on April 11, 2017 in Ocala surrounded by his family. Mr. Lybass was the son of the late James Harmon Lybass and Ruby Goethe Lybass, In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his son, Edwin Goethe Lybass of Delray Beach, brothers Tillinghast Goethe Lybass, M.D. of Palm Beach and Thomas Mountain Lybass of Jacksonville, uncles James Tillinghast Goethe and Edwin Goethe of Dunnellon and niece Carolyn Lybass of Palm Beach, He is survived by his wife Joh-Nana Dundy Lybass, daughters Cindy Porter (David) of Dunnellon, Pamela Allen (Ruben) of Ponte Vedra and Susan Beatty of Dunnellon and Jacksonville, six grandchildren and four great grand-daughters.  He is also survived by his sister, Oregon Lybass, of Jacksonville and Waynesville, NC.

Mr. Lybass was a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville and attended the University of Florida until he enlisted in the army and served with the military police during the Korean War. After the war, he returned to Dunnellon to manage the sawmill operations for his uncles, JT and Edwin Goethe.  He was Commander of the American Legion Wall Rives Post 58 in Dunnellon.  Mr. Lybass moved to Jacksonville in 1964 and worked in sales with Proctor and Gamble prior to opening his real estate company, Lybass Realty in Jacksonville.  Upon the deaths of his uncles, J.T. and Edwin Goethe, he returned to Dunnellon to manage the timber growing operations and was president of Goethe Forest Management.  Mr. Lybass combined his belief in education with his love of forestry by serving for many years on the Advisory Board of the School of Forestry at the University of Florida and providing scholarships to students in that area of study.

Mr. Lybass loved life, his family and joyous family gatherings.  He was an avid gardener and enjoyed sharing his plants and horticultural knowledge with friends and family.