Key dies following battle after stroke
Key was an active, long-time Lion
Residents of Flomaton and the surrounding areas are mourning the loss of Wayne Key, who died at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola Tuesday following a long battle to recover from a stroke.
A tenacious member of the Flomaton Lions Club, Key grew up in Pensacola from the age of 6, where his father was in the civil service.
A Boy Scout and Explorer Scout in his youth, Key had two brothers and worked as a 'soda jerk' at the Pensacola Dairy Bar, a Pensacola icon until it was later torn down to make way for Interstate 110.
A typical adolescent, Key enlisted in the U.S. Army after high school, where he served for six years. When he came home from the service at one point, Key met his future wife, Juanita "Nita" Waldrop, on a blind double date in 1960. The two married on Friday, July 13, 1962.
He got a job at Monsanto later that year, working in the Research and Development Center. He was on the team who developed Astroturf and C-Rex while working there.
In the following years, three children were born, Andrew in 1963, daughter LouAnn in 1965 and Barry came along in 1969. Key coached baseball and football before his oldest was old enough to play. Both sons were recognized for athletic and scholastic achievements during their school years at Escambia High School, where his wife and all three children graduated. Key graduated from Pensacola High School, although he had attended all four Pensacola high schools up to that point.
He retired from Monsanto in 1985 with 23 years of service, then began working for Cox Cable. In 1990, Robert Faircloth contacted Key about coming to work for him at Church's Chicken in Flomaton and Atmore, where he also owned the Ponderosa.
Key sold his house in Penscola and rented a house in Century, where Key worked until a back injury in 2003. Both he and his wife joined the Flomaton Lions Club in 1995. Nita suffered a stroke in 1998, and Key had to step away from Lions at that time to take care of her. Key took care of her until 2012, when she died, just short of their 50th wedding anniversary.
In 2015, Key moved in with his daughter, LouAnn in Century. He continued to serve in the Flomaton Lions Club, serving as secretary, vice president and president. He also penned a history of Lions in the state of Alabama that was featured at the State Convention in 2019, served as a committee member on the Lions Historical Committee from 2017 to 2021 and served as editor of the bi-monthly district newsletter. He was very active in his church, First Century Baptist in Century.
"Wayne was loyal to Flomaton Lions Club and served with integrity," said Flomaton Lions Club President Christy White. "It was an honor to serve under his leadership."
