Lonnie Bell Peaden

Lonnie Bell Peaden passed peacefully into heaven to meet her Lord and Savior Jesus Chirst from her home in Baker, Florida in the early morning hours on Tuesday, July 4, 2023 after a brief battle with cancer.  Lonnie Bell was born in Holt, Florida on November 8, 1923 to parents John Quincy Davis and Idell Johnson Davis. She married her first love, James Jackson Peaden, in 1941 and enjoyed 50 years of marriage in which she was a loving wife until James passed in 1991. James and Lonnie Bell were blessed with two daughters, Sonja and Mary during their marriage.  Also blessed later in life by finding love a second time, she married Emory Elmer Messick in 1994 and celebrated 25 years of marriage with Elmer until his passing in 2018.  She is survived by sister Carolyn Davis Stanley, daughters Sonja and Mary, and son-in-law Wayne Maloy, grandchildren Vanessa and husband Chris Menhennett, Matt Brunson and wife, Polly, John Silva and wife, Amanda, Chastity and husband Chad Adams, 10 great grandchildren, 3 great-great grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, John Quincy Davis and Idell Johnson Davis; husband James Jackson Peaden and husband Emory Elmer Messick; brothers Clewis Davis, Dick Davis, John Davis and sister, Mary Virginia Davis Aderhold.

Living an amazing life of ninety-nine and a half years, Lonnie Bell encountered many adventures and touched the lives of people wherever she went.  Lonnie Bell earned a high school diploma after attending Escambia Farms School, where she went on to substitute teach at Escambia Farms School for a short time. Her career experiences included working at Monsanto for 13 years, then she transitioned into her true calling as a hairstylist for 26 years.  Working as a hairstylist allowed Lonnie Bell to develop personal relationships with each client, which in turn enabled her to enhance the inner beauty of each person through providing services of shampooing, cutting, coloring, perming, and styling hair. This process and time created many wonderful friendships.  Although Lonnie Bell’s hairstylist career began in Lonnie’s Beauty Shop located behind her home in Blackmon, Florida, it also included time spent as a cosmetology instructor for the Pensacola Beauty School in Pensacola, Florida, and 21 years at the Crestview Nursing and Convalescent Home on Wednesdays and Thursdays.  Lonnie Bell often referred to her time at the nursing home as “the most rewarding work I’ve ever done in my entire life.”  Her true daily endeavor was to bring happiness to others. In addition to hairstyling, Lonnie Bell also brought happiness to others through her cooking and baking. Many throughout the community received baked goodies and a smile “just because you were on my mind” and enjoyed her Sunday Dinners for family and friends. Lonnie Bell had a gift for making friends and family feel special and loved. Although a life-long resident in Okaloosa County, Florida where Lonnie Bell left her childhood home in Holt, Florida, then moved to reside on James Peaden Road in Blackmon, Florida, and on to her final residence on Messick Road in Baker, Florida, she loved to travel and explore.  Travels included destinations all over the United States as well as international trips to Canada and a trip to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. As a member of Goodhope Baptist Church in Escambia Farms since 1941, the greatest passion in Lonnie Bell’s life was her relationship with Jesus Christ.  She loved to serve the Lord, fellowship with others, and worship through music and song. 

Everyone is invited to celebrate her life at Whitehurst Powell Funeral Home in Crestview, Florida. The viewing will be held on Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 10:00 am followed by the service at 11:00 a.m.

Arrangements are entrusted to Whitehurst Powell Funeral Home in Crestview.  Guestbook and condolences are available online at www.whitehurstpowellfuneralhome.com.

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