Betty L. Robinson
Betty L. Robinson, 95, of DeFuniak Springs, died March 19.
Robinson was born on April 12, 1906, in Connorsville, Ohio, the daughter of Frank and Marie Tkatch Sempirek.
Survivors include her sons, Bob Robinson Jr. and wife, Irene, William Robinson and wife, Jackie, and Richard Robinson and wife, Maxine, all of Orlando; daughter, Lois Gill and husband, Royce, of DeFuniak Springs; nine grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; and sister, Julia Port of Greenwich, Conn.
Funeral services were scheduled for March 21 in the chapel of Jerry Evans Funeral Home with the Rev. Curtis Mixson officiating.
Interment was scheduled for March 22 in Glen Haven Cemetery in Winter Park, Fla.
Jerry Evans Funeral Home handled the arrangements.
James C. Reeves
James C. Reeves, 86, of Destin, died in a local heath care facility on Sunday, March 17.
He was born on Aug. 6, 1915, in Oneonta (Blount County), Ala. He had lived in the Destin area since 1962, moving here from Alabama. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Destin. He was a veteran who honorably served his country in the Army during World War II. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Judy Reeves; brother, Gene Reeves; and sister, Velma Hyde.
Survivors include his loving wife, Louise; two sons, Doyle Ray (Janet) Reeves of Destin and James D. (Diane) Reeves of Skiatook, Okla.; five grandsons, Jason Reeves of Fort Walton Beach, Stephen Reeves of Sandy, Utah, Greg Reeves of Provo, Utah, John Reeves of Skiatook, Okla., and Jimmy Reeves of Pensacola.; one brother, Willard Reeves of Birmingham; sisters, Lucille Wadsworth of Oneonta, Ala., Lilie Mitchell of Greenville, Ala., Pearley (James) Brown of Jacksonville, Ala., Pauline (Paul) Smith of Oneonta, Ala.; Vernell (Daniel) Godsey of Freemont, Mo.; Barbara (Harold) Phillips of Sylacauga, Ala.; Ilene (Carl) Cochran of Steel, Ala., Faye (Billy) Dumas of Oneonta, Ala.
Services were scheduled for March 21 with the Rev. Bob Boone of First Baptist Church of Destin officiating. Following the service, burial was to follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery with military honors. His sons and grandsons were to be pallbearers.
Little Chapel Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach handled the arrangements.
Milton Lloyd Duvieilh Jr.
Milton Lloyd Duvieilh Jr., 71, died Friday, March 17, in Destin.
He was a native of New Orleans and a resident of Metairie, La. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elizabeth Lotz Duvieilh and Milton Lloyd Duvieilh.
Survivors include his wife, Gloria Links Duvieilh; daughter, Peggy Cozad; sons, Gregory Duvieilh and John Duvieilh; brother, Lawrence Duvieilh, and six grandchildren.
A funeral mass was scheduled for March 19 at the Chapel of Jesuit High School.
In lieu of flowers, contributions preferred to Boys Hope, Manreasa, the Cancer Society or Masses.
William K. Heapy Sr.
William K. Heapy Sr., resident of Destin for more than 20 years, born Feb. 22, 1912, in Yonkers, N.Y., died March 17 in Fort Walton Beach.
Heapy was employed for 37 years at the Phelps Dodge Cable & Copper Products Co. in Yonkers.
Survivors include his wife of 67 years, Jenny Heapy of Fort Walton Beach; sons, Don Heapy and wife, Bette, William Heapy Jr. and wife, Liz, all of Fort Walton; grandchildren, Gary Heapy and wife, Kathi, of Shalimar and their children, Nicholas, Mary and Erin; Valerie Taylor and husband, Jim, of Duluth, Ga., and their children, Corey and Savannah.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at Emerald Coast Funeral Home, with Dr. Ken Taylor, pastor of Destin United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery.
Friends may call the funeral home on Saturday from 10 a.m. until service time. Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach is handling the arrangements.
John Dale Lankford
John Dale Lankford, 56, of Destin, died March 17.
He was a member and deacon of Village Baptist Church in Destin. John was a Sunday school teacher, was active in global missionary trips and leader of men’s ministry. His greatest passion was to share with people the love of Jesus Christ.
John was a Navy veteran and served as a presidential honor guard for John F. Kennedy in 1963. Prior to his retirement in 1998, he was the founder and president of Volunteer Medical Equipment Co., which serviced middle Tennessee.
John was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend and will be truly missed.
He is survived by his wife, Betty; two daughters, Colleen Lankford of Nashville and Pamela Sathngam and her husband, Ott, of Destin; and two grandchildren, John Cameron Sathngam and James Cole Sathngam of Destin.
He is also survived by a sister, Wilma Cunningham, and two brothers, Wayne Lankford and Max Lankford, all of Dickson, Tenn.; and another brother, Lanny Lankford of Union Kentucky.
A celebration of faith was scheduled for March 20 at Village Baptist Church in Destin, with Pastor Steven Davies officiating. Burial was to follow at Heritage Gardens Cemetery in Niceville.
The family accepts flowers or memorial donations in John’s name to Village Baptist Church Building Fund, 101 Mathew Blvd., Destin, Fla. 32541.
Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach was in charge of arrangements.
Melissa Monique Mavracic
Melissa Monique Mavracic, 24, died March 13 in the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center.
She was born Nov. 17, 1977, in Cleveland. She was very lovable and loved everyone. She attended RHD school and loved her teachers, many friends and care givers. She loved to paint and listen to Elvis Presley, The Three Tenors, Rod Parsley and Bennie Hinn. She loved to praise the Lord.
She is survived by her grandmother, Barbara Wertz of Freeport; mother, Michelle Garrison; sister, Alexandra Garrison of Sherman, Texas; uncle, Mark Mavracic and wife, Sandy, of South Bend, Ind.; uncle, Thomas Mavracic and wife, Jean, of West Palm Beach; aunt, Christine Mavracic of Virginia; great uncle, Bill Barker and wife, Shirley, of Surprise, Ariz.; great-aunt Donna, and Bill Janosick of Delaware, Ohio; great-aunt, Debbie, and husband, Paul Drazenovic of Gilbert, Ariz.; and numerous cousins and friends.
She was preceded in death by her great–grandmother, Mary Provins; grandfather, Thomas Mavracic; and uncle, Bill Mavracic.
Services were scheduled for March 18 with the Rev. Jim Allison and the Rev. Charles Satterwhite officiating.
Pallbearers were to be members of First United Methodist Church of Freeport. Honorary pallbearers were to be students at the RHD School. Memorialization was to be by cremation.
Flowers will be accepted.
Arrangements were entrusted to Clary–Godwin Freeport Chapel.
Gordon N. Davison
Gordon N. Davison of Sandestin died March 13 in Destin.
A memorial service to celebrate Gordon’s life was scheduled for March 18 at Santa Rosa Beach Community Church.
Gordon was born in Atlanta on June 15, 1924. He served in the U.S. Army from 1942-46 and then in the Air Force Active Reserves until 1959.
He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1949 where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Scabbard and Blade, and Tau Beta Pi. In 1955 he received a master’s degree in thermodynamics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Gordon and his sweetheart, Jacqueline, were married in 1955 and have raised and survived by two sons, Gregory Scott of San Rafael, Calif., and Ronald Neal of Alexandria, Va. He is also survived by Gregory’s wife, Lynn, and their two sons, Nathan and Oliver. Gordon is also survived by an aunt, Gene Ware of Kingsport, Tenn.
Gordon retired from the Boeing Co. after 43 years. Among the many projects he was involved as engineer, unit chief or program manager were the B-17, B-42, X20 Glider, Saturn, Apollo, Mars Voyager, Lunar Orbiter, 747, the Wind Turbine Project and the Space Station. He also served as vice president for new business in Tokyo.
Professionally, Gordon was an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautic Society. In 1994, when he retired from Boeing, he moved to Destin where he became active with the Sandestin Owners Association. He served three years as president of the association, as well as serving on the Sandestin Architectural Review Board and the Destin Beautification Committee.
Gordon was an avid outdoorsman. Among his most remembered accomplishments he climbed Mount Rainier in Washington State. He loved scuba diving, tennis and golf.
Gordon and Jacquie recently reaffirmed their faith and joined Santa Rosa Community Church. He guided his life by his favorite Bible verse, Luke 6:31: “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye to them likewise.” He was loved and will be missed by his family and many, many friends around the world.
The family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to Santa Rosa Beach Community Church, P.O. Box 1723, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. 32439, or to Covenant Hospice, Okaloosa-Walton office, 101 Hart St., Niceville, Fla. 32578.
Ray Destin Burleson
Ray Destin Burleson, 83, died in Louisville, Ky., March 12, after a long illness.
Ray was born in Destin, the eldest son of Carl and Ida Destin Burleson.
He is survived by his wife, Zelda; son, Tony Burleson, both of Louisville; sister, St. Christopher Marie of St. Augustine; brother, Bill Burleson of Montgomery, Ala.; and several nieces and nephews.
Burial was scheduled for March 18 in the family plot at Evergreen Cemetery in Jacksonville.
Daisy Mattie Lee Reddick
Daisy Mattie Lee Reddick, 74, of Portland, Fla., passed away, March 12.
She moved to the Portland area after retiring from employment at the Fort Rucker Army Base. Reddick was Methodist by faith and a member of Portland United Methodist Church.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Hughie and Violet C. Brown, and sister, Mavis Tripp.
She is survived by two sons, James Reddick and wife, Kim, of Gulf Breeze, and David Reddick; daughter, Bonnie Jean Bell, and husband, Bobby, of Port St. Joe.; five grandchildren, Jennifer, Joshua, Katie, Jillian and Jamie; and two great–grandchildren.
Services were scheduled for March 16 in Hatcher Cemetery, with the Rev. Darin Hyer officiating. Burial was to follow.
Arrangements were handled by Clary–Godwin Freeport Chapel.
Effie Lang Dugmore–Smith
Effie Smith, 81, died March 11.
Smith was born on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. She served in the Women’s Royal Navy from 1941-46. She married Peter Dugmore–Smith in 1947. The Smith’s served the Lord in the field of Christian publishing with Worldwide Evangelization Crusade in London and then with Christian Literature Crusade in Philadelphia. In 1973, they moved with their family to Destin.
Smith was preceded in death by her husband after 52 years of marriage.
She is survived by her children, daughter, Carol Atchley, husband, Dwight Atchley, and their daughter and son–in–law, Heather and Ronald Mollihan; daughter, Rosemary Woolwine, husband, Chip, and their children, Chelsea and Zack; daughter, Jean Gruhn, husband, Dan, and their daughter, Sarah Joy. Her surviving sister, Molly, and other relatives reside in England.
Smith’s first priority in life was Jesus Christ. She will be remembered by all as a powerful prayer warrior. She set a tremendous example for her children as a creative missionary and homemaker.
Services were scheduled for March 14 at Grace Lutheran in Destin.
