NICEVILLE — Jim Vest recalled Monday the first time he ever heard anyone mention the road that would be called the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector.
It was in 1992, before the Mid-Bay Bridge was even completed. The man who said, “One day we’ll have a road running through there,” was Walter Francis Spence.
“That’s just the vision he had,” said Vest, the executive director of the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority. “Years down the road.”
Spence died Thursday, two months shy of 88. He had attended the Jan. 4 ribbon-cutting marking the opening of the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector and been honored that day for his myriad contributions to the Bridge Authority.
In 2003, on the eve of the 10th birthday of the Mid-Bay Bridge, Spence recalled dreaming with his father about just such a project, and the recently deceased Spence has been largely credited with making his daddy’s dream come true.
“Walt never wavered. He was the kind of friend that you never had to hunt down. He was there in the good times and in the bad times. And on the Mid-Bay Bridge you didn’t know if it was good times or bad times,” said James Ward, who as a state representative helped shepherd Spence’s innovative bridge funding ideas through the Florida Legislature.
Ward said he and Spence endured a lot of criticism together from bridge skeptics.
“He was a good friend, a valued friend. And I very much admired his commitment and dedication,” Ward said.
Spence’s many contributions also included coming up with the idea for what has become a Niceville icon: the Mullet Festival.
While many envisioned “a big old fish fry,” when the first festival was held Walt Spence’s son, also Walt, said Walter Francis saw the festival as a city builder.
“One of the thing economic developers told people was that to get block grants you needed to show companies that your community can accomplish things, that they can work together on projects,” Walt Spence said. “One thing the government looked for was fairs, festivals and cultural events.”
Spence also saw the Mullet Festival as a way to unite the military and civilian populations of Niceville-Valparaiso, his son said.
Walt Spence also built the first real commercial development in Niceville. He got his general contracting license in 1973 so he could erect a Piggly Wiggly at Bayou Plaza, a strip mall still standing today at the intersection of state roads 85 and 20.
“When that Piggly Wiggly opened, the line went well out into the parking lot,” Walt Spence recalled.
Walter Francis Spence also built specialized defense contractor offices in Shalimar, and had worked as a contractor and later as a consultant. He is credited with helping develop the guidance system technology that made ordinary bombs smart.
Spence even worked as a “bag man” who delivered documents to Israeli intelligence officers in the days leading up to the Six Days War in 1967, his son said.
Spence helped establish the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority, served two stints on the board and attended nearly every authority meeting, Vest said.
“Many of the authority members wanted him to be chairman. He never wanted to be chairman. He did his leadership in a different way,” Vest said.
Spence also served on the Northwest Florida Water Management District board, the Northwest Florida Regional Planning Council and the Commission of the Future of Florida’s Environment, his obituary states.
He “helped craft the initiative creating the Florida Forever Program which has preserved many thousands of acres of environmentally important Florida habitat,” the obit states.
Vest and the younger Spence said Walter Francis Spence stayed active right up until the end of his life.
“It would have been nice to have had him a little longer, but he just sort of keeled over. He was only bedridden for four days,” the younger Spence said. “That’s how I hope I go.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.