Lt. Col. Rex A. Whitehurst passed away peacefully on February 9, 2020. Rex had many passions in life, but nothing exceeded his love and loyalty to his family. He was preceded in death by his lovely wife of 56 years, Barbara L. Whitehurst; parents, Russel A. Whitehurst and Pauline A. Whitehurst; brother in law, John Cervenec; sister, Juana Bell Cervenec and son in law, David D. Franklin. Rex is survived by his brother in law, Clinton Beach and his wife, Helen of Baker, FL.; sister in law, Harriette Beach Crunk of Tuscaloosa, AL; children, Cheryl Webb of Fort Walton Beach, FL, Cindy Franklin of Navarre, FL, Allen Whitehurst and wife, Phyllis of Fort Walton Beach, Scott Whitehurst and Jean Marie Leles of Islamorada, FL; grandchildren, Abraham Webb, Zachary Franklin, David Brock, Ryan Brock and Lauren Turner Conkle. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. All of them meant family to him.
Rex had a successful career in the U.S. Air Force that started in 1954. It allowed him to travel the world and fly – one of his lifelong dreams. He retired in 1976.
Rex enjoyed fixing this and making something out of that. His love for the outdoors was evident with his desire to simply sit outside and hear the sound of nature! He loved camping, adventure and flying – oh and reminiscing about his adventures! We will plan on a celebration of life after the service, so we can get together and do what Dad did best – tell a story! Fly high Dad – you will be missed by many.
Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 22, 2020 at Davis Watkins Funeral Home, 113 NE Racetrack Road, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, 32547. Funeral services will follow the visitation at 2:00 p.m.
Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted on line at www.daviswatkins.com.