Austin - Tammy Faye Austin, age 60, of Callahan, Florida passed away peacefully due to complications of COVID in Jacksonville, FL, on August 30, 2021. She was born May 15, 1961, in Jacksonville, F, to the late James and Alice Roberson.  Tammy was one of 9 children.  She was the oldest of four daughters, and like a mother to all her siblings.  Tammy grew up in FL, spent most of her childhood helping her family on a Dairy Farm. She attended West Nassau Highschool and in 1979 she decided to move to Houston, TX to live with family located there.  Tammy loved Texas, especially line dancing on Friday nights. While in Texas, she took classes including a 10-key typing class that would later help her in her job at Baptist Medical Center in the accounting department. She later moved to Bakersfield, CA, where she gave birth to her daughter, Jennifer. She ultimately decided to return to Jacksonville, FL, in 1986. She soon met her next-door neighbor, Tommy and they ended up falling in love after Merry her little sister set them up. Tommy loved her and her cooking and they married on February 21, 1987. Together, they had their daughter, Brittney.

Tammy relished the role of stay-at-home Mom and homeschooled her children Jennifer and Brittney through elementary school. She was energetic full of life, a prayer warrior, a woman of faith and loved God.  In 1996, Tommy and Tammy decided they wanted to make more of a difference in life, so they chose to become house parents at the Baptist Home for Children.  At any given time, Tammy would have 8-10 extra daughters to love and care for until they were either adopted or transitioned back into the arms of their family. Tammy has kept up with a lot of the girls that are now women from the Baptist Home and was fortunate to be "Granny Tammy" to their children.

Tammy was the ideal role model for all her children to look up to and the epitome of strength. A testament to her strength is being an ovarian cancer survivor in 2007.

Most recently Tammy worked at Frontier Airlines, as the friendliest ticket agent and had a second job at Publix, a job in which she loved so much. People were drawn to Tammy because of her friendly disposition and kind spirit that was sprinkled with fun and laughter. She had a way of making everyone feel special, a gift that made the lives of everyone who knew her better.

Tammy had an entrepreneurial spirit and was always thinking of her next adventure.  One of her biggest accomplishments was when she started a clothing and gift boutique in Callahan, FL called Haley Caroline and Co. She most enjoyed getting to meet new people in her community. She initiated her own You-Tube channel, called Forever Tammy Faye, and had well over 1,000 subscribers. On her channel she shared her love for southern cooking, crafting, and shopping.

Tammy is preceded in death by her parents; sister, Jean Forbes; brothers, Terry Roberson, Timmy Roberson, Tony Roberson.

Tammy is survived by her loving husband of 35 years, Tommy Austin, of Jacksonville, FL.; daughters, Jennifer Crawford, Brittney (Bobby) Boyce; brothers, Rocky Roberson, Jerry Roberson; sisters, Merry (Kenneth) Carroll, Sherry (Michael) Bates; grandchildren, Jacob Bowler, Levi Bowler, Haley Pringle, Chase Pringle and new grandchild TBD due in February 2022.

A Celebration of Tammy's Life will be held Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 6 p.m. at Nassau Funeral Home.  Family will receive friends one hour prior to service at the funeral home.  The arrangements are under the care and direction of Nassau Funeral Home, 541720 US-1, Callahan, Florida 32011. 904-879-1770. Visit www.nassaufh.com to sign the family's guest book.