THE DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL
Daytona Beach, Florida
Sunday, June 4, 2017

Eleanor "Tommie" Black Shutt, a pioneering Florida businesswoman, retired pharmacist and civic activist who along with two husbands helped build modern-day Ormond Beach, died May 29, 2017, at her home. She was 90 and died peacefully in her sleep of natural causes.

Along with her first husband, Samuel N. Black, Shutt established and operated the first drug store on the Ormond Beach peninsula in 1950 at a time when few women were pursuing professional careers. The husband-wife duo established Black's Pharmacy in what was then the state's first shopping center, Ellinor Village, on A1A. The store, with its iconic soda fountain, beach supply center and free delivery service, would stand as a local landmark for tourists and locals alike.

Over the course of 50 years, she would contribute to molding Ormond Beach in ways large and small, from helping to establish and build the city's first Methodist church and what was then known as Ormond Beach Memorial Hospital to becoming one of the first two women elected to the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce and serving 21 years as an alternate member of the City of Ormond Beach's Board of Adjustment and Appeals.

Despite the passing of her first husband in 1969, leaving her to operate the drug store on her own, she was extraordinarily active in community life. At various points, she served as the president of the Junior Service League; the Home and Service Department of the Ormond Beach Woman's Club; the P.E.O. Chapter BD, and both the Seabreeze Junior and Seabreeze Senior High School PTA's. She was named the "Woman of the Year for the Halifax Area" in 1962 and honored as a life member of the Florida Council of State PTA in 1970.

A second-generation Floridian who was born and raised in Bunnell, she met her first husband while attending the College of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She grew up in a small pharmacy in downtown Bunnell where her father, Tom "Doc" Holden, provided the only healthcare available for decades in Flagler County.

Both she and her older sister, Altajane Holden Caudill, resolved to follow in their father's footsteps and went on to become pharmacists.

More than a decade after her first husband passed away, Tommie married A. Roy Shutt. A short time later, she sold Black's Pharmacy and together they traveled the United States and Europe until his death in 2009.

Besides being a charter member of First United Methodist of Ormond Beach, she served in a variety of capacities including president of the United Methodist Women and the Seekers Sunday School Class; as a member of the Administrative Council and Board of Trustees and as co-director of the financial building campaign in 1995.

She was a registered pharmacist in the states of Florida and North Carolina and a member of the Volusia County Pharmacy Association, honored in 1997 for 50 years of professional service. She also was a member of the Board of Trustees of Ormond Memorial Hospital for many years and a life member of the hospital's Auxiliary.

She was a life member of both the UNC Alumni Association and the UNC Pharmacy Alumni Association; the Chi Omega Sorority and the Daytona Beach Panhellenic Association. She was also a member of Oceanside Golf and Country Club for more than 60 years.

Tommie is survived by son Norman Black and his wife Beverly of Bethesda, Md., and granddaughter Ellen Black Spitnale and her husband, Michael Spitnale, of Lexington, Ky.; son Lee Black and granddaughter Cory Black of Phoenix, Ariz.; daughter Jane Black of Orlando, Fla., and daughter Ethelanne Black Austin and her husband, Rev. Stu Austin, of Fort Myers. She also is survived by a stepson, David Robey of Kingwood, Texas, and a step granddaughter, Deni Robey of New York City. She was predeceased by her grandson Sean Austin.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, June 10th at First United Methodist Church of Ormond Beach. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery. Her family will receive friends Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Haigh-Black Funeral Home, 167 Vining Court, Ormond Beach.

Memorial donations may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Ormond Beach Memorial Fund, 336 S. Halifax Drive, Ormond Beach, FL 32176.