Arthur Lewis Gottily

September 28, 2022

Arthur Lewis Gottily, longtime resident of Pensacola, Florida passed away on Saturday,

September 24, 2022, in West Florida Hospital at the age of 92. Art was born on October 16, 1929, the only child of Thomas and Frances Beiner Gottily in Manhattan, New York. His paternal grandparents were Sebastiani and Andriana Gottilla from Ventimiglia di Sicily, Italy.

During his early childhood Art lived in Queens, New York and at 13 years of age he resided with his parents at 25 Central Park West in New York City. He attended middle school and graduated from Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach, New Jersey. In 1953, Art earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Philadelphia Textiles Institute now known as Thomas Jefferson University.

Art enlisted in the United States Navy and proudly served at Alameda, California. In 1957 Art moved to Pensacola and was employed by Chemstrand/Monsanto for 28 years working in research and design while earning six (6) United States patents. He retired from Monsanto in 1985 at which time he founded Engineering Expertise and became a consultant with Scott Paper Company working in their Mobile, AL plant. He also founded Consolidated Check Dispatching, an innovative preempter of Fed Ex and was a real estate agent for a number of years.

In 1967 Art met the love of his life Sylvia Ann Walker, a nurse who attended him after a surgical procedure. They began dating and were married on October 23,1971. Art shared his love of the outdoors and competition with Sylvia by teaching her to play golf at the Monsanto golf course and to sail at the Pensacola Yacht Club.

Art was the father of three (3) children Karen Gottily Gauvey, Norwood, CO; Tom Gottily, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Scott Gottilla fou (Courtney) Tucson, AZ. He loved and was extremely proud of his four grandsons Chauncey Gauvey, Anthony Gottilla, Andrew Gottilla and Micah Gottilla, and great grandson Lane Gauvey.

Art was an ardent patriot, often recalling his days at Farragut Military Academy and his time in the US Navy. His interest in government and politics led him to join the Republican Party where he worked tirelessly for conservative principles and candidates. Fox News was his favorite information source. He was a lover of history, especially the exploits of the Flying Tigers of World War II. On a presidential visit to Pensacola, Art met his longtime hero President Ronald Reagan. Art was a member of the John Birch Society. He and Sylvia received recognition for fifty years of membership with Escambia County Republican Party.

Art was also a member of Pine Forest Baptist Church and during the 1960s he served as senior warden of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.

Services for Art will be held Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North, located at 1000 South Highway 29, Cantonment, FL 32533. A private burial will be at Crestlawn Memorial Park in Ocean Springs, MS on Thursday, October 6, 2022.

The family would like to thank the nursing staff and doctors in the West Florida Hospital ICU. Their kindness and care of Art will always be cherished.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Obituaries