Kimberley Jean Reasor
May 27, 2025
Kimberley Jean Reasor, 65, of Century, Florida, passed away unexpectedly on May 17, 2025 with her husband by her side. She was born in Sikeston, Missouri on April 07, 1960 to Oral Gene Casey and Shirley Jean Casey. She was married to Robert Erik Bell Reasor for 27 years.
Throughout her life, Kim worked several industrial and retail jobs, but the majority of her life she enjoyed being a homemaker. She was a member of Apostolic Lighthouse in Dowagiac, Michigan where she loved to worship God with all her church family. She had a passion for family time, dancing, singing karaoke. She also enjoyed her hobbies; artwork, scrolling TikTok videos and watching horror movies.
Kimberley was a joy to be around and her heart was truly genuine.
She was preceded in death by her father, Oral Gene Casey, mother-in-law, Judith Strickland Reasor, grandparents, Finus F. Hamlett and Dessie J. Hamlett, James O. Casey and Pearl Belle Casey.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Erik Bell Reasor of Century, Florida, mother Shirley Jean Casey of Dowagiac, Michigan, brother, Nathan Lynn Casey (Jodi) of Benton Harbor, Michigan, sister, Robin Renee Anderson (Todd Bennett) of Benton Harbor, Michigan, daughter, Heidi Renee Arbri of Niles, Michigan, daughter, Trisha Chérie Bonebright (Michael Young) of Niles, Michigan, son, Dakota Hawke Reasor (Jennifer Pendleton) of Jay, Florida, grandson, Elias Michael Young of Niles, Michigan, and multiple nieces and nephews.
The pallbearers are Dakota Reasor, Nathan Casey, Brandon Casey, Michael Young, Elias Young, and Jason Shreves.
Her service will be Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. with Nathan Lynn Casey officiating, with a visitation prior at 12:00 p.m. A “Celebration of life” will be held at a later date in Dowagiac, Michigan for local friends and family. The burial of Kimberley will be at Ellaville City Cemetery in Ellaville, Georgia on Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 12:00 p.m.
James Arnold Peterson
May 27, 2025
James Arnold Peterson, 76, of Pensacola, Florida, went home to be with the Lord on April 28, 2025.
James is survived by his daughters, Melony and Tiffany Peterson; five grandsons, James (Kayla) Thornton, River Peterson, Levi Black, Nathaniel Black, and Oaklynn Black; four great-grandchildren, James Thornton, Kendra Thornton, Kimber D’Acquisto, and Kylie D’Acquisto.
His life was a testament of his unwavering faith, commitment to family and friends, and strength of character. These values will continue to inspire his loved ones for generations to come.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project in recognition of his service as a proud Vietnam veteran.
His life will be celebrated at Faith Chapel North on Saturday, May 31, at 1:00 p.m.
She Said Yes! — Blue Wahoos Proposal A Home Run
May 27, 2025
It was an out of the park home run Saturday night at the Wahoos game.
U.S. Marine Zach proposed to his girlfriend Natalie moments before the two launched the post-game fireworks show The marriage proposal was a choreographed effort between the Blue Wahoos and Zach.
Zach ricked his fiancé into believing they were chosen to start the fireworks launched. Before the countdown began, he then dropped to one knee and proposed. She said yes, as the two hugged and she was stunned with emotion as the crowd cheered. Then the fireworks began.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Library Summer Feeding Program Start Delayed Until Next Week
May 26, 2025
The start date for free summer lunch program program for youth ast West Florida Public Libraries has been delayed until next week.
The program was originally scheduled to begin today, May 27, at all library locations. It will now begin on June 2, 2025.
Beginning on June, West Florida Public Libraries will be serving free lunch for youth 18 years of age and younger at all library locations Monday through Friday from noon until 1 p.m. A special rural grab-and-go version of te program will be available at the Century and Molino library locations during the same time period.
Disabled individuals 19 years of age and older who participate in a public or private non-profit program during the school year are also eligible to receive meals. This program is sponsored by Feeding the Gulf Coast.
Isolated Severe Storm Possible Into Monday Evening
May 26, 2025
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Tuesday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7am, then a chance of showers between 7am and 1pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A chance of showers before 8am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8am and 1pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday: A chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 82.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.
Monday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.
One Seriously Injured When Dirt Bike, Pickup Collide In Cantonment
May 26, 2025
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash involving a dirt bike and a pickup truck Sunday night in Cantonment.
It happened about 7:30 p.m. at Booker Street and Booker Avenue.
FHP said the pickup truck, driven by a 26-year-old Pensacola woman, had begun to make a left turn onto Booker Avenue when the dirt bike began to pass the truck. The front of the bike collided with the left side of the pickup truck.
The 20-year-old male driver of the dirt bike was airlifted to a local trauma center with serious injuries. The occupants of the truck were not injured.
File photo.
‘I Didn’t Get To Come Home…I Died Doing Something Meaningful’
May 26, 2025
For Memorial Day, we share the story of the death of local Marine LCpl. Travis M. Nelson, who gave his life in Afghanistan on August 18, 2011.
Gold Star Mom Beckie Nelson spoke with NorthEscambia.com a decade after Nelson’s death and her son’s ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan.
I Died Doing Something Meaningful.
And she shared with us a short, simple note LCpl Travis Nelson left behind in his field book just in case he did not return.
“Dear friends & family, If your reading this it seems I didn’t get to come home. I love each and every one of you and I want you to know I have no regrets. I died doing something meaningful.”
He died a few short weeks after writing that note.
Beckie Nelson clings to those words that provided her peace and understanding.
“We received Travis’ belongings weeks after the funeral. The emotions we felt as we opened the trunk are unexplainable. Still in disbelief, our hearts still in pieces, it was gut wrenching to say the least. When I saw this page I closed the book, laid down on his bed with it in my arms and I actually slept for the first time in weeks.”
Growing Up With A Promise To His Mother
A young Travis Nelson grew up in Bratt, just two doors down from the modern day Travis M. Nelson Park that was named in his memory about a year after its 2010 opening.
He would play on those very grounds, shooting his BB gun and riding his go cart. His first love in his young life was fishing. At four years old, he would spend hours with relatives fishing on the Escambia River. No matter how old he got, he never gave up the love for a fishing pole and hook. He also loved playing baseball at Northwest Escambia’s Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
On Sept., 11, 2001, Travis Nelson was nine years old when America was attacked. He was not playing; he was fixated on the news.
And he made a promise that day. The kind of promise to a mother that a young man will do anything to uphold.
“I’ll never forget him saying ‘Momma, I will protect you. I will be a soldier’,” Beckie Nelson said.
The family last saw Travis on July 13, 2011, as he deployed for Afghanistan. Their last phone conversation was Monday, August, 15, 2011, as he requested items for a care package.
That care package was still sitting by the front door three days later. It never made it to the mail.
August 18, 2011.
It was about noon on Thursday, August 18, 2011, at the Nelson home in Bratt.
An American flag fluttered in the breeze on the porch.
And three men in military uniforms stood at the door. Beckie Nelson knew what that meant.
“I just screamed and said no,” she said. “I just went to my knees and said don’t let them come in. I knew right away that he was gone.”
My Biggest Fear
The next day, Beckie Nelson sat in the middle of her bed with a laptop, reading the scores of reader comments on a NorthEscambia.com story about Travis Nelson’s death.
“He really was our hero,” she said, clutching a 5×7 photo of her son.
“I didn’t think I could see past that day. I felt like it would always be that day. I didn’t imagine that I could ever talk about it,” she said. “But I can, and it has to do with the support groups, the military support groups, and the community support.”
She was remarkably strong as she talked about the heart wrenching pain of that day.
But during our interview, her voice broke.
“My biggest fear,” she said before pausing. “My biggest fear was that Travis would be forgotten. I was scared I was going to forget.”
A Fallen Marine Returns.
LCpl. Travis M. Nelson was never forgotten.
The rain poured down at Pensacola Naval Air Station August 24, 2011, as Nelson’s body arrived on the final leg of his journey home.
Outside the main gate of Pensacola NAS, people gathered to pay their respects to the young soldier. The rain did not send them running; they stood silently — many holding American flags — as the hearse carrying an American hero departed on a 55-mile journey to Atmore.
Along the way, some of Pensacola’s busiest roadways came to a complete standstill as the motorcade passed. Many motorists stood outside their vehicles and paid their respects.
In Walnut Hill, just a few miles from Nelson’s boyhood home in Bratt, the motorcade slowed as it approached Ernest Ward Middle School. Nelson was a Golden Eagle, attending Ernest Ward in the sixth and seventh grades.
Hundreds of Ernest Ward Middle School students and teachers dressed in red, white and blue lined Highway 97, American flags in hand, waiting for the arrival of the motorcade.
Several of Nelson’s middle school teachers were among the crowd that suddenly grew silent as the first sirens could be heard. As the procession passed, the students stood with their hands over their hearts, waving Old Glory. The thunder of 127 Patriot Guard motorcycle riders vibrated the ground and echoed across the country fields near the school.
Six Florida Highway Patrol trooper vehicles led the hearse past the school. Many students and teachers broke down in tears at the sight of a flag draped coffin. Others cried as they made eye contact with Nelson’s parents and their daughter — who was a sixth grader at Ernest Ward at the time.
“I look back at those pictures now,” Beckie Nelson said. “Those pictures from the middle school. It meant so much. Those kids are now fathers, mothers, some are now serving in the military.”
My Travis.
“Travis knew at nine years old that nothing was going to hold him back. That was his heart’s desire,” Beckie Nelson said 10 years later. “That’s what he wanted to do with his life.”
“God had a greater plan for my Travis.”
Above: NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scouts, Marines, Other Volunteers Place Over 50,000 Flags At Barrancas National Cemetery
May 26, 2025
Scouts, Marines, and other volunteers place flags on about 50,000 graves Barrancas National Cemetery on NAS Pensacola.
Each flag honors the men and women who lost their lives while serving our country.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Deputy Involved Shooting Under Investigation
May 26, 2025
A deputy-involved shooting occurred Sunday night in Escambia County.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s office deputy responded to a reported trespassing call in the 7200 block of Plantation Road about 7:30 p.m. While on the call, the deputy was notified of a disturbance and heard multiple gunshots at 850 Fusion, across from Cat Country 98.7.
When the deputy arrived on the scene of the shooting, a suspect armed with a firearm confronted the deputy, forcing the deputy to fire towards the suspect, according to the ECSO.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
“He was transported to a local hospital for treatment,” the ECSO said in a statement Sunday night. “At this time, it is unknown if the suspect’s injuries are from a shot fired by the deputy or the previous gunshots that were fired. No officers were injured.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) has been notified and is actively investigating the incident, as is standard procedure in all deputy-involved shootings.
Memorial Day: North Escambia Monuments Honor Those That Served
May 26, 2025
On Memorial Day, people across North Escambia and the country remember the brave men and women that have served and sacrificed all.
In North Escambia, there are several memorials that honor those that have served in the military. Below, we are highlighting some of the outdoor memorials that residents can visit today.
Continue scrolling; the article continues below the photos.
LCpl Travis M. Nelson Park
The LCpl Travis M. Nelson Park was dedicated in Bratt on November 8, 2011, in honor of the local Marine killed in action in August 2011 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. It was just two weeks after his 19th birthday and only about a month after he arrived in Afghanistan.
The park features a memorial in Nelson’s honor. It is located on West Highway 4, just west of Northview High School.
Century Veterans Wall of Honor
About four dozen of those that served from the Century area are honored on the Century Veterans Wall of Honor at Century’s Roadside Park on Highway 29. The memorial was dedicated on July 4, 2008 and also honors local soldiers killed in action.
The Century Veterans Wall of Honor is located in the Nadine McCaw Park at the corner of North Century Boulevard (Highway 29) and Hecker Road.
Walnut Hill Veterans Wall of Honor
The largest such memorial in the North Escambia area, the Veterans Honor Wall has stood in front of the Walnut Hill Community Center since its dedication in 2003. There are about 300 names on the wall, including names of just over a dozen soldiers killed in action. The wall honors those from the Walnut Hill area that have served in the nation’s military.
The Walnut Hill Ruritan Club began planning the wall in late 2001, and they decided that it would be a community project at no cost to the veterans listed.
The late Billy R. Ward began to engrave the names with an antique machine the club purchased off the internet, and there were 220 names on the wall when it was dedicated in 2003. He spent a lot of time on the project, visiting the Wall South Memorial in Pensacola to get an idea what size the letters on the plaques should be.
On the Walnut Hill Veterans Honor Wall, everyone is equal. It was decided that no service rank would be include on the name plaques, just the branch and years of service.
Many of the veterans listed on the wall are now deceased.
The Walnut Hill Veterans Wall is located in front of the community center at 7850 Highway 97.
NorthEscambia.com photos by William Reynolds, click to enlarge.