JEFFERIES, Jr., Ansell Ansell Jefferies, Jr., 84, passed away peacefully in the presence of his family on Friday, September 29, 2017 at the VA Medical Center of West Palm Beach due to congestive heart failure. He was born on August 3, 1933 in Riviera Beach, FL, the second of three children born to Ansell Jefferies, Sr., a carpenter and Claudia Wyly, a restaurant cook and domestic worker. His siblings were Claudia Beatrice Jefferies and Margaret Jefferies. He received a high school diploma from Roosevelt High School, West Palm Beach, Florida, Class of 1952; a B.S. from Morgan State College, Baltimore, Maryland, Class of 1956, were he joined the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; and a MBA from Frostburg State University, Frostburg, MD, Class of 1974. Having attended college on a ROTC Scholarship, he was commissioned upon graduation and served in the U.S. Army for 15 years, fought in Vietnam and received an honorable discharge at the rank of Major. He returned to Palm Beach County in 1974 to become the first African American assistant county administrator and its highest ranking African American public official. He departed public service to establish an affordable housing real estate development company that developed and invested in projects in Florida, Maryland and Washington, D.C. He retired to Hobe Sound, FL, spending his final years with his beloved dog, Jack. Ansell is survived by his sister, Margaret Miller of Beaufort, SC; his three children, Carlton Jefferies of Killeen, TX, Patricia Jefferies Byrd of Alexandria, VA and Bradley Jefferies of Gaithersburg, MD; his four grandchildren, Sean Byrd and Matthew, Quentin and Courtney Jefferies; and his former spouse, Beatrice Smith. A Memorial Service will be held on October 14, 2017 at 10:00AM at Lakeside Presbyterian Church, 4601 South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33405. In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to The Salvation Army of Palm Beach County.