Rachel “Joelene” Atwell

Rachel “Joelene” Atwell, age 79, of Crestview, Florida passed away on September 22. 2024 at Fort Walton Beach-Destin Hospital. She was born in Florala, Alabama on September 7, 1945, to Dallas and Josephine Clark. She grew up in DeFuniak Springs, Florida on Juniper Lake.

Joelene moved to Crestview with her family in the late 60’s and worked as a telephone operator at Southeastern. She crossed the lines during a strike to help provide for her family and shortly after crossing the strike lines, her tires were cut. She was then driven to work until she could find another place of employment. She was hired at Fairchild Industries and worked until the company had employee layoffs. Joelene took a different route after Fairchild and the family moved back to her childhood hometown of DeFuniak Springs so she could help her parents at Clark’s Landing on Juniper Lake. While helping out at the store, she started substitute bus driving for Walton County School system. She continued to do both jobs until her father, Dallas, passed away on September 24, 1973. The family then moved back to Crestview in the summer of 1974 where she remained an active resident. She used her bus driving experience to start substitute driving for Okaloosa County School system and eventually received a permanent route. She drove for approximately 10 years and enjoyed driving the Crestview High School Big Red Machine to the Friday night away football games, Saturday morning competitions and any extra band trips such as The Tropicana Bowl and the Peach Bowl parade, just to name a few. She also drove for the Crestview Show Choir competitions and performances. She was an avid band parent supporting her children during this time. She sold many fruit cakes, hundreds of bags of candy, and pounds and pounds of fruit. Also, she cooked thousands of hot dogs for the concession stand on home game nights and had all of us neighborhood band kids wrapping them and putting them in ice chest to haul to the stadium.

Joelene loved to fish, and that love came from living on Lake Juniper. While being a school bus driver, she would have summers off with her children and they spent that time off camping, glamping and fishing on Juniper Lake, Hurricane Lake and Karick Lake. She taught her children to fish and to love the water. She shared her love for softball by coaching several teams over the years with the youth program at Twin Hills Park and this was before her daughters were old enough to play.

Joelene discovered her passion for the CB radio and was a member of a CB radio group for years with the handle “Bream Buster”. She participated in their gatherings and activities which included setting up a “food” trailer on Saturdays at the east I-10 rest area and passing out free coffee and donuts to travelers. Here she joined the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Auxiliary and served the community with pride. This is where we believe she got the bug to become a corrections officer with the Okaloosa County Jail. She gave them 17 years before having to medically retire. When the boredom of retirement got the best of her, she went to truck driving school and earned her Class A CDL and drove a 18-wheeler. She drove for Covenant Trucking seeing the US from coast to coast and all the sites in between. Retiring for the final time, she became a foster parent here in Okaloosa County. She was a safe place for numerous children during this time.

Preceded in death by her father Dallas and mother Josephine, her brother Grady Clark and sister Margaret Greer.

She is survived by her children, son Christopher Gainey (Charity), daughter Steffanie Cook (Ragan), daughter Melissa Atwell, son Jacob Atwell, sister Carolyn Butts and her favorite 1^st cousin Becky Sue Jacobs, along with 10 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

We would like to thank North Okaloosa Medical Center, Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, Dr. Angel Nunez of White Wilson Pulmonology, Jonathan Aspinwall and Dr. Josh Kolmetz of Main Street Medical, Dr. Anthony Al-Dehneh of Okaloosa Heart and Vascular, Centerwell Home Health, Barnes Healthcare services and especially Moulton’s Pharmacy for walking along side us through the journey of our mother’s care. Words are not enough to express our sincere gratitude.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024 beginning at 2:00 p.m. from The Chapel of Brackney Funeral Service with Leon Blackshear officiating. Burial to follow at Old Bethel Cemetery in Crestview, Florida. The family will receive friends on Saturday, September 28, 2024 from 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

You can share memories and offer condolences at www.brackneyfuneralservice.com
Brackney Funeral Service, Crestview, is entrusted with arrangements.