Freddy William Rivoire
Freddy "Frenchy" William Rivoire died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, in a Fort Walton Beach, Fla., hospital.
He was a loving husband, father, brother and grandfather.
Mr. Rivoire moved to Gulf Breeze, Fla., after retiring from serving his country for almost 30 years in the U.S. Air Force. He served over 15 years overseas completing his last years at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., and retiring at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. He was an avid golfer and a member of Tiger Point Country Club. He also enjoyed fresh water fishing, where he caught his prized 11.5 pound bass.
He was preceded in death by his father, Charles A. Rivoire Sr., and his mother, Eula Mae Guidry. He is survived by his wife, Nicolle G. Gatien; daughters, Mrs. Caroline Windham and husband Dr. David Pete Windham, and Mrs. Brigitte Wise and her husband Mr. Tim Wise. He is also survived by six brothers and two sisters, Mrs. Virginia (Norman) Vincent, Mr. Charles Rivoire Jr., Mr. Joseph Rivoire, Mr. Ronald (Rose) Rivoire, Mr. Alvin (Sharon) Rivoire, Mr. Richard (Rosalyn) Rivoire, Corless (Paul) Simon and Mr. Glenn (Mona) Rivoire.
Gramps will be missed by his grandchildren, William Windham, Michelle Wise, Catherine Windham and Chad Wise.
A time for visitation will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, at Rose Lawn Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12, in St. Anne's Catholic Church of Gulf Breeze with Monsignor Luke Hunt officiating. Interment will follow in Barrancas National Cemetery at 12:30 p.m., with full military honors.
Rose Lawn Funeral Home, Gulf Breeze, is in charge of arrangements.
Zane Wakefield Blalock
Zane Wakefield Blalock, age 3 1/2, of Ocean Springs, Miss., died on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, at Keesler Air Force Base Medical Center in Biloxi, Miss.
He was a student at Early Intervention Project Prints of Jackson County, Miss., and a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ocean Springs.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations be made to the Epilepsy Foundation of MS, 4795 McWillie Drive, Suite 101, Jackson, MS 39206.
Survivors include his parents, Keith and Laurie Sonnier Blalock of Fort Meade, Md.; brother, Hunter Daniel Blalock; maternal grandparents, Jim and Nancy Sonnier of Ocean Springs; paternal grandparents, Jimmy and Marie Blalock of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Sonnier of Lafayette, La.; aunt, Libbie Sonnier of Ocean Springs; and uncle, Phillip Blalock of Waco, Texas.
Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Ocean Springs Chapel, with a rosary at 6 p.m.
On Friday, Feb. 12, a10: 50 a.m. procession will leave the funeral home for an 11 a.m. Mass at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. Burial will be in Crestlawn Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers will be the pediatric staff of Keesler Air Force Base Medical Center.
Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, Ocean Springs Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.
Mable Johnson
Mable Johnson, age 85, of Crestview, Fla., died Saturday, Feb. 6, 1999, in Bay Heritage Nursing Home in Niceville, Fla.
Mrs. Johnson was a lifelong resident of Crestview and the North Okaloosa County area. She attended and was active in the McDonald Street Church of Christ. She was the wife of the late Willie (Sarge) Johnson.
Mrs. Johnson is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lena and Samuel Burks of Crestview; son, Artluther Lee of Houston; six grandchildren, Derrick, Dexter, Acquanatta, Artluther Jr., Mable and Loren; and great-grandchildren, Princess, Dexter II, Alexis, Xavier and Siles.
The family will receive friends at the McDonald Street Church of Christ in Crestview from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12.
Funeral services will be held at the McDonald Street Church of Christ on Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. with Brother Joe Ricks officiating. Interment will follow in Rock Hill Cemetery in Rock Hill, Fla.
Park Funeral Home, DeFuniak Springs, Fla., is entrusted with arrangements.
Edward Arthur Kelley Sr.
Edward Arthur "Art" Kelley Sr., died peacefully in his sleep on Feb. 9, 1999, just three days before his 95th birthday.
A longtime resident of Ohio and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, he and his beloved wife of 72 years, Dorothy Kelley, spent 20 years commuting back and forth from the Upper Peninsula to various locations in Florida. For the last eight years they settled in the Destin/Fort Walton Beach area. Dorothy resides at the Westwood Retirement Community.
Art was a fixture on the golf links, winning a Club Championship several times and carrying a handicap of one. Remarkable for an amateur, he carded five holes-in-one in his career, including one on his 76th birthday and two on the same hole. Art and Dorothy, who shared their love of golf, played in various "sunbird" leagues in the area until reaching 90 years of age. Art was also an accomplished bowler, rolling a 300 game and several 700 series.
Art is survived by his wife, Dorothy; two sons, Edward Arthur (Pat) Kelley Jr. and Michael C. Kelley; two daughters-in-law, Joyce and Patricia; four grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Both sons earned Ph.D. degrees in scientific fields - Pat's after leaving the U.S. Army as a colonel. Pat is now fully retired and lives nearby in Niceville, Fla. Mike is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Associate Dean of Engineering at Cornell University.
Art was a great husband, father, grandfather and father-in-law and will be deeply missed by all.
Vincent S. Rossitto Sr.
Vincent S. Rossitto Sr., a former resident of Babylon, Long Island, N.Y., died Feb. 10, 1999, at a local nursing home.
He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1901, to Gaetano and Rosalia Rossitto of New York and Sicily, Italy. He graduated from Columbia University Teachers College and later completed his music studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Palermo, Sicily, where he became a professor of violin. Rossitto was the concert master of the Massimo Theater in Palermo and at the Opera House in La Scala, Italy.
Professor Rossitto appeared on the concert stage frequently, became an early musician's union organizer, was later a delegate and member of the Trial Board and Executive Board of Local 802, American Federation of Musicians. Rossitto graduated from the Xavier School of Labor Law. He was the supervisor for Local 802 for all of Long Island, the delegate to the National Labor Relations Board, founder of the Long Island Musicians Society, and founder of a scholarship fund for young musicians, which was later named for him. He was a 50-year member of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Babylon.
He is survived by Eva V. Rossitto, his wife for over 71 years, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; son, Vincent E. Rossitto and wife Marilyn of West Babylon; son, Robert J. Rossitto and wife Marjorie of Fort Pierce, Fla.; son, William A. Rossitto and wife Arlene of West Islip, N.Y.; Roger F. Rossitto and wife Sylvia of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; son, Paul T. Rossitto of West Melbourne, Fla.; daughter, Eve C. DiMaria and fiance Dale Wessell of Fort Walton Beach.
Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12, at Emerald Coast Funeral Home Chapel. The family will greet friends one hour prior to services.
A visitation will be held at Claude Boyd-Spencer Funeral Home in Babylon. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, with burial following in New York at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Hospice of Northwest Florida, 1005 W. College Blvd., Suite B, Niceville, FL 32578.
Emerald Coast Funeral Home, 113 Racetrack Road N.E., Fort Walton Beach, is in charge of arrangements.
Johnnie Bell Andrews
Johnnie Bell Andrews, age 55, died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, in DeFuniak Springs, Fla.
Miss Andrews was a resident of DeFuniak Springs. She was a Born Again Christian and a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ; and a member of Temple Missionary Baptist Church.
Miss Andrews was preceded in death by her father and mother, John W. and Louise Grate Andrews. She is survived by one sister, Rosemary Williams of DeFuniak Springs.
Services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at Clary-Godwin Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Earl Tyler, Minister Walter Ales, Elder Willie J. Moore and Minister Melvin Crystal officiating.
Memorialization will be by cremation.
Clary-Godwin Funeral Home, DeFuniak Springs, is in charge of arrangements.
Helen J. Heckroth
Helen J. Heckroth, age 80, of Shalimar, Fla., departed this earthly world on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 1999, after a lengthy illness and is now at peace, free of pain, in that eternal home with our Lord and Savior.
She was born in Milton, Fla., on Aug. 5, 1918, and had been a lifelong resident of this area. Her last months of cancer care were under the loving support of Hospice of Northwest Florida. Special thanks to Cindi, Tippi and Ann and the rest of their staff for making this difficult time as easy as possible.
Throughout her life, Helen was devoted to family and friends. She was a member of First United Methodist Church of Niceville. Prior to her illness, she loved to work in her yard, as evidenced by her many beautiful flowers, spend time on the beaches of our beautiful Emerald Cast, and was a longtime golfer and bowler.
"Life's work well done.
Life's race well run.
Now cometh rest."
Survivors include her husband, Lewis C. "Rocky" Heckroth; one direct-descendant grandson, Jack C. Peerson III of Destin, Fla.; five adopted grandsons, Richard of Valparaiso, Fla., Linden and John of Destin, Dennis of Reno, Nev., and Kirk, residing in Italy, adopted children of her deceased son, Jack C. Peerson Jr. and their families; Rocky's sons, Peter Carl of Columbus, Ind., Allan Lee of San Ramone, Calif., Curtis Jay of Sandpoint, Iowa, John David of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Paul Dwight of Tallahassee, Fla., and Randy Bruce of La Miranda, Calif., and their families; nieces, Susan Hall and Helen Correll, and nephew, James Hall, all of Pensacola, Fla., and their families; and special friends, Jean Fogg of Pensacola, Fla., and Brenda Chunn of Hendersonville, N.C.
A time of visitation will be conducted at McLaughlin Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach on Sunday, Feb. 14, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Funeral services will be conducted at the funeral home on Monday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. with the Rev. Rurel Ausley Jr., Helen and Rocky's pastor, officiating. Burial will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery.
Floral tributes will be accepted at the funeral home. However, Rocky suggests that friends consider making contributions, in Helen's memory, to Hospice Foundation of Northwest Florida, 1005 W. College Blvd., Suite B, Niceville, FL 32578.
McLaughlin Mortuary, 17 Chestnut Ave., Fort Walton Beach, entrusted with arrangements.
Shirley Ann Strickland
Shirley Ann Strickland, age 54, of Crestview, Fla., died Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1999, at North Okaloosa Medical Center in Crestview.
Mrs. Strickland was born in Adell, Ga., on Nov. 27, 194, to Lamar S. and Georgie M. Douglass Aycock and had been a resident of the Northwest Florida area for the past year, moving here from South Carolina. She was a devoted homemaker, wife, mother and grandmother. Mrs. Strickland was a member of the Order of Eastern Star.
She was preceded in death by her father, Lamar S. Aycock in 1998.
Survivors include her mother, Georgie Aycock; husband, Randy Strickland, both of Crestview; daughters and sons-in-law, Donna and Allen Hinton of Hartsville, S.C., Rhonda and Carl Bennett of Florence, S.C., Susan and Roy Tucker of Trenton, N.C., and Debbie and Steve Cooker of Wichita Falls, Texas; brothers, Hillard L. and wife Kyong Aycock of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and David and wife Sara Aycock of Laurel Hill, Fla.; 17 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be conducted from the chapel of Whitehurst Funeral Home at 2 p.m. Friday with the Rev. Fran Picker officiating.
Floral tributes will be accepted at the funeral home.
Interment will follow the service on Friday in Liveoak Park Memorial Cemetery in Crestview.
Arrangements and services under the direction of Whitehurst Funeral Home in Crestview.
Kristen Laurel Gray
Our sister and our friend, Kristen Laurel Gray, joined her mother at the feet of Jesus on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 1999.
A high school senior, Kristen was a member of First Baptist Church of Niceville since her family moved here in 1990, and was involved in every aspect of the Church Youth Ministry. Kristen's calling in life was to missions. She served as a leader in Acteens and had participated in multiple youth mission projects. An active personal witness, Kristen recently led two of her friends to the Lord.
Kristen was born in Tupelo, Miss., to Rickie and Sheila Gray on Nov. 29, 1980. She is survived by her father, Rickie Gray; her three sisters, Callie Valinda, Kaitlin Nicole and Caroline Elizabeth; her paternal grandparents, Annel Pettigoa and husband Wester of Fulton, Miss.; maternal grandparents, Holland and June Little of Fulton, Miss.; many uncles, aunts, and other extended family members; and a great number of friends.
A celebration of Kristen's life will be at 1 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church of Niceville with Pastor Gerald Reeves officiating. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.
Asked to serve as pallbearers are Trent Jett, Will Rushing, Gabe Henkel, Austin Henkel, Mark Wise, Bill Wise, T.J. Kollar, Pat Howell and Scott Kendall.
Further services and interment will be conducted in Fulton, Miss.
Floral tributes will be accepted, or donations may be made to the Gray Memorial Fund, c/o First Baptist Church of Niceville.
Emerald Coast Funeral Home, 113 Racetrack Road N.E., Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is in charge of arrangements.
Nellie Forte Wilson
Nellie Wilson (Nannie), age 79, expired at Santa Rosa Medical Center on Feb. 11, 1999, after a brief illness.
She was born on May 2, 1919, in Lucedale, Miss., and lived most of her life in Crestview, Fla. She was a loving mother of six children, and helped raise numerous grandchildren. She was well-known for her ironing abilities all over Crestview, which she did for 35 years.
Nellie was preceded in death by her husband, Hugh C. Wilson; daughter, Shelia Marilyn Zielinski; and many brothers and sisters.
She is survived by a sister, Zebbra Fortenberry of Mobile, Ala.; and her brother, James Lindberg Forte of Cantonment, Fla. She has four sons and a daughter living: Thomas (Tharon) and Katie Wilson of Crestview, Kenneth (Devone) and Barbara Wilson of Crestview, James Franklin (Frank) and Lorna Wilson of Milton, Fla., Patricia (Pat) Ann Wilson of White House, Tenn., and John (Wayne) and Angie Wilson of Crestview. She has 17 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at McLaughlin-Aultman Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Live Oak Park Memorial Cemetery.
McLaughlin-Aultman Funeral Home, Crestview, is in charge of arrangements.
