We will send an invite after you submit!
In memory of
Dave Nickerson
May 14, 1951 - December 7, 2020
May 14, 1951 - Dec 7, 2020
Photo
Dave's obituary
Born May 14, 1951, in Laurel, Delaware, Dave graduated high school in Whitehall, Pennsylvania in 1969. He joined the U.S. Air Force in November of 1970, eventually giving his life to Jesus in July of 1979. He and Beverly Eaton were married on September 4, 1982.
Dave received an appointment to Navigator staff in October of 1990 and retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1991. Following his military retirement, he received a Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from University of West Florida in 1993 and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from UWF in 1994. He also worked in customer service at Bayou Printing and served on staff at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, from 1990 to 2020.
In the context of his Navigator ministry, Dave worked with airmen, sailors, seamen, and marines at Eglin AFB, the 7th Special Forces Group in Crestview, and Hurlburt Field. Until May of 2016, he served as the Eglin Chapel singles and young adults volunteer coordinator. In his weekly Bible studies for airmen and other military personnel, his primary focus was always to train the men and women in his studies to lead the gatherings themselves. He also met with older men from the community and had discipling and training relationships with several local churches.
Longtime family friend and Navigators Military staff Megan Fisher recalls, “Dave loved how Jesus would ask questions, so that was a huge part of his ministry. He always said on a scale from one to 10 on how much of an evangelist a person is, he was an 11. My first experience with this was in a Burger King line when he started converting the lady taking his order. As a young believer at the time, I didn’t know if I should be rejoicing or embarrassed!”
"Dave would often tell me that success in life, for him, was to see those he discipled investing in others, who would then go on to invest in others," says Navigators Military staff Kyle Klekamp, whom Dave had mentored. “Dave was gifted at raising up leaders and training them to facilitate Bible studies, share the gospel in their contexts, and invest in the lives of those around them. In Dave's eyes, we were all being formed. We were terribly messy, the whole group of us, yet we were never more loved. He was always training, always modeling. Because he did, we knew we could.”
Dave’s family held a small, private burial service on December 18, 2020, in Niceville, Florida. As pandemic restrictions allow, a larger funeral honoring his military service is planned for the fall of 2021.
Cards and letters to the family may be sent to:
Bev Nickerson
1906 Redwood Ave
Niceville, FL 32578
Please keep Dave’s family and many ministry friends in your prayers as they grieve his loss while praising God for his fruitful life.
Send to someone
Share this obituary with others
Want to stay updated?
Get notified when new photos, stories and other important updates are shared.
Send flowers
Share your sympathy. Send flowers from a local florist to Dave's family or funeral.
Send flowers
Share your sympathy. Send flowers from a local florist to Dave's family or funeral.
Share this memorial website
How you can help
Share with others
Donate in memory
Created with love by
Button Vanosdall (Dave's friend) and
Thomas Perkins.
