Ginger Leigh Root, 42, passed away on February 10, 2023 at her home in Ocala.
Ginger was born in Junction City, Kansas, on September 22, 1980. She grew up in Wakefield, Kansas, before moving to Arkansas in 1993. She attended high school in Bryant, Arkansas, before becoming an LPN and working as a Hospice nurse.
She became a fitness expert and obtained professional status in the International Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation before moving from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Ocala to work as the Director of Personal Training at Zone Health and Fitness. She then undertook the challenging task of becoming a firefighter and first responder with the dream of continuing to help others, and she was committed to doing so in her new home of Ocala.
Ginger is survived by her son, Merit Bynum, her mother and step-father, Karen and Mark Smeltzer, her father, Douglas Root, and her beloved brothers, Jake and Keith Root.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Roberts of Ocala Downtown Chapel in Ocala on March 2nd, 2023, at 4:00 EST. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made on Ginger’s behalf to the Ocala Fire Department, emergency medical services, and police department. Roberts of Ocala Funerals and Cremations will be handling the arrangements.
The family wishes to extend their gratitude to Shae and David Coy-Tazzo, Deborah Tucker and Chief Mike Balken of the Ocala Police Department, Chester Weber of Roberts of Ocala Funerals and Cremations, Chris Cotter, and a host of others including all her many friends at Zone Health and Fitness and the Florida Fire Academy. She embraced Ocala, and so many in Ocala returned her embrace. The family also extends their heartfelt thanks to the many friends in Little Rock, Arkansas and all around the country.