Doris Wade Gandy
March 4, 2014
Doris Wade Gandy, age 87, a native of Ochlocknee, Georgia, and former resident of Pensacola, passed away peacefully with her niece by her side on Monday, March 3, 2014, just days shy of her 88th birthday. She passed away at the Atmore Community Hospital’s Tender Loving Care program where she has received great care and compassion for the last nine years under the medical skill of the Lord’s servant and her physician, Dr. Jonah McIntyre.
Singing the loudest while leading the Halleluiah chorus when she reached her heavenly reward, was her devoted sister, Merle Matthews along with their beloved sisters, Cleo Hagan, Dora Hackney, Sadie Shuman, Dot Carter, her only brother, Wallace Wade, and parents John Arthur and Nora Wade. She was also predeceased by her husband of 56 years, Robert Cecil Gandy.
Survivors include her loving sister, Lysbeth Brown of Jacksonville, Florida; 21 nieces and nephews, including her Godchild and special namesake, Doris Dale Ash, Hooper W. Matthews, III of Atmore; Cindy Colville of Spanish Fort; extraordinary caregivers, Joyce Portis, Michelle Robbins, Jennifer Haskew, Carolyn Scott, Lucille Ankum and Cora Matthews. Jean Wilson, Jean Johnson, and Lucille Matthews, loving “senior saints” were faithful over the years in their ministry to Doris. Also feeling the loss of Doris’ smile and constant presence in their lives, are her wonderful family at the Atmore Community Hospital including the nursing and administrative staffs, physical and respiratory therapy departments, and the hospital auxiliary.
With an engaging smile, helpful nature, and keen intellect, Doris worked her way up the “ladder” in the Bell Telephone family from the 1940s as switchboard operator to supervisory customer service management upon her retirement in 1989. During her career with the phone company, which spanned five decades, she was awarded the Supervisor of the Year award. Doris was also an active member of the Pioneer Club.
A Bible scholar, Doris was a charter member of Pensacola’s Burgess Road Baptist Church in 1968 where she was an active member of the Ladies Joy Sunday School Class. As untiring supporter of missionaries throughout this country and abroad, she took any available opportunity to personally spread the gospel of Jesus Christ whom she accepted as her Lord and Savior, alongside her sister, Merle on Sunday, June 8, 1941 at the Church of Christ in Arbor Dale, Georgia.
Her 12-year battle with Alzheimer’s has ended with a new body and a new mind in Christ. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” The Book of Timothy, Chapter 2:4-7 defines Doris Wade Gandy’s life.
A celebration of her Christian witness and testimony will be held on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at the First Presbyterian Church in Atmore at 11 a.m. with a visitation luncheon in the church fellowship hall immediately following the service, which will be conducted by Reverend Mark Cooley.
Burial will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery in Atmore.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Jerelda Lynell Wilkinson
March 4, 2014
Jerelda Lynell Wilkinson, 66, of Cantonment, began breathing freely in heaven on March 2, 2014. She was born December 27, 1947, in Waycross, GA to Reverend William Edward Martin and Alice Mae Wildes. Along with them, her sisters Doris Garrett and Betty Thomas (Beryl) welcomed her home. She is survived by her sister Marjorie Weathers (EJ).
She was married to Frank P. Wilkinson on September 1, 1995 in Bay Minette and they resided in Cantonment. She was the daughter of a Church of God of Prophecy minister and like a tree planted by the water, she remained unmoved. In her final days she worshipped at Church in the House. As a business owner of Plaza Beauty Salon, for many years she made Cantonment beautiful.
She is survived by her children, Iwana Burleson Bruns of Cantonment, Angela Burleson Browning of Pensacola and Brandi Neal (Randy) of Cantonment; grandchildren Ben “Benbo” Browning, Rachel Browning, Amber Neal, Caroline Bruns, and Hannah Neal.
She is also preceded in death by her beloved four-legged children, Cheyenne and Rebel.
Visitation will be Thursday, March 6, 2014, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 7, 2014, at Faith Chapel North. Pastor Jerry Fleming will officiate.
She will be laid to rest at Cottage Hill Community Center.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Joyce Smith Ayers
March 4, 2014
Joyce Smith Ayers, 72, of Pensacola, went to be with our Lord on Friday, February 28, 2014, at Shands Hospital after a long battle with Myelofibrosis. Joyce was born in Columbus, Gerogia, in 1941. She was a 1962 graduate of the University of Alabama. She married her husband of 50 years in 1963 and settled in Pensacola in 1973 after her husband retired from the Air Force. Joyce worked as a RN for Dr. Nell Potter until her retirement. She was a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church.
Joyce was preceded in death by her father, Louie; her mother, Mildred; and her sister, Paula.
Immediate survivors include her husband, Lowell; her daughter, Kimberly Jeaneen O’Connor (Peter); grandchildren, Abigail and Teddy Harrell; and daughter, Penny Kay Ayers and grandchildren, Sidney and Chase McDonald.
Visitation will be held Friday, March 7, 2014, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Funeral Services will be held Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 11 a.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Reverend Michael McBride officiating. Joyce will be laid to rest at Riverside Cemetery in Marianna, Florida.
No interment services will be held.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.
Norma McCurley
March 4, 2014
Norma McCurley passed away quietly and peacefully Saturday, March 1, 2014. Norma was born on October 22,1913, in Jay to Doan and Malle Lee May.
Norma was married to George “Otis” McCurley for 59 years and had two children together, a son, Tex McCurley, and a daughter, Kathy McCurley Russell who all precede her in death. Norma was also preceded in death by her brothers, Ted May of Jay, Cecil May and Gillis May both of Pensacola; and her sisters, Jean Payne of Pensacola and Christine McCranie Dowdy of Texas.
Norma resided in Jay for her entire life, except for the last 9 years where she resided at Unihealth Post Acute Care Santa Rosa Nursing Home in Milton. Norma was a member of Jay First Baptist Church. Norma was a people person and loved being around friends and family.
Norma is survived by her granddaughters, Kim Russell Shell of Pace and Kristian Russell Todd of Arlington, Virginia; her grandsons-in-law, Stephen Shell and Chuck Todd and great-grand children, Kennedy, Kellison, and Bennett Shell and Margaret and Harrison Todd.
A graveside funeral will be held March 5, 2014, in Dixonville, Alabama at the Dixonville Community Cemetery at 2 p.m. Visitation will be prior to the funeral at Jay Funeral Home from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
No Phone Service At Byrneville Elementary School, Central Water Works
March 3, 2014
Byrneville Elementary School is currently without phone service due to an AT&T cable problem. In case of emergency, the school can be reached at (850) 382-3054.
Central Water Works is also without phone service. Until service is restored, customers may call (850) 232-7072. As long as phone service is out of order, Central Water Works cannot process debit or credit card payment, even in person.
Three Injured In Highway 97 Rollover Crash
March 3, 2014
Three people were injured in a single vehicle rollover accident Sunday north of Molino.
The driver of a passenger car apparently lost control, ran off the roadway and overturned in the 2300 block of Highway 97, just north of Gibson Road. The driver was airlifted by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Two passengers were transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital, while a third passenger refused treatment at the scene.
The names of those involved and further details have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino, Walnut Hill and McDavid stations of Escambia County Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
Pictured top and inset: Firefighters use the Jaws of Life to free the driver following this traffic crash on Highway 97 Sunday. Pictured below: Three people were injured in the accident. NorthEscambia photos, click to enlarge.
Firefighters Respond To Electrical Fire
March 3, 2014
Firefighters responded to a reported porch fire on Deer Run Lane, just off South Highway 99, near Walnut Hill Sunday night.
The fire, reported about 10:30 p.m., was out when the first firefighters arrived on scene. The cause of the fire was believed to be the electrical supply to a clothes dryer. There was no major damage to the home and no injuries reported.
The Walnut Hill, Molino and McDavid stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Atmore Fire Department were dispatched to the incident .
Editor’s note: The red glow in the photos is not fire; it was caused by emergency lights and a light fog.
Pictured: Firefighters responded to a reported fire on Deer Run Lane Sunday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lawmaker Files Bill To Pause School Grades
March 3, 2014
One of the leading Senate Democrats on education has filed a bill proposing a sweeping overhaul of the state’s school accountability system, though the measure faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Bill Montford of Tallahassee, would pause the school grading system for three years. Also, a state test could not be the “sole determiner” of whether students graduate or get promoted to the next grade over the same time frame. The proposal comes after years of controversy about the state’s grading system and as Education Commissioner Pam Stewart faces a decision on a new test to measure student learning under the revised version of the Common Core State Standards currently being implemented.
“Florida’s accountability system is no longer credible in the eyes of the public — from the adoption of new standards, the selection of a new assessment, to the awarding of school grades,” Montford said in a statement. The bill would also alter the state’s performance-pay law, approved by the Legislature in 2011, by lowering the portion of a teacher’s evaluation that has to be based on test results from 50 percent to 30 percent. Another 20 percent would be based on other measures of a teacher’s performance. And it would delay for three years — from July 1 of this year to July 1, 2017 — the date when new employees are required to enter the state’s performance-pay system.
A companion bill is planned in the House. Montford also serves as chief executive officer of the Florida Association of District School Superintendents. Local districts and teachers have pushed the state to pause the accountability system for at least three years while the new standards and tests take effect.
by The News Service of Florida
Photo: Captain Of The Boat
March 3, 2014
The weekend weather was perfect for outdoor activities…including running catfish lines up the Escambia River with the Captain of the Boat “Rowdy” at helm near the Molino boat ramp. Photo by Crista Pope for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Join The Tate QB Club During Tuesday Night meeting
March 3, 2014
The Tate High School Quarterback Club is beginning their members drive.
Freshman parents, fans, alumni, community members, and others that want to get involved in the football program can join the Quarterback Club Tuesday. New members can join during the next Quarterback Club meeting on Tuesday, March 4 at 6:30 pm. in the Tate Media Center.
March 4. Come to QB Club meeting March 4 6:30 in Tate Media Center.