H.C. Land

H.C. Land

Henry Culver Land was born into a large family - the second of seven children - in Ensley, Florida to Proctor and Dixie Land. A natural leader, H.C. maintained relationships dating back to childhood and his years at Tate High School throughout his life. After attending the University of Florida, H.C. remained a Gators fan for the next 70 years.

As a young man, he left home to work in the tropics for Weis Fricker Mahogany Company. Over subsequent decades, H.C. traveled extensively throughout South and Central America, visiting over 19 countries and often escorting shipments of raw mahogany back to the States where its arrival and unloading was a familiar and entertaining sight to generations of Pensacola natives. H.C. was a Vice President at Weis Fricker Mahogany Company, and later worked for other international hardwood concerns. He lived with his wife, Bobby Ann Weis Land, and children in Nicaragua and Brazil at different points in their family life. The luckiest of friends and family will long remember H.C.'s tales of travel adventures and growing up in the rural South after the Depression.

H.C. used his knowledge of Latin American culture and language to serve on multiple mission trips in Central and South America and was a member of Gulf Breeze United Methodist Church. He had a special soft spot for working with children and members of the disabled community and helped create genuine, positive change in the lives of those he assisted. Friends and family remember H.C. as a generous man who avoided fanfare and fuss but was always there to help with problems large and small. H.C. maintained close relationships with his immediate and extended family across time zones, states, and continents, most notable because he somehow managed to make every family member feel special.

H.C. is survived by his wife of 68 years, Bobby Ann Weis Land; a brother, sister, and sister-in-law; three daughters; a son-in-law; six grandchildren; one great grandchild and a multitude of extended family members. He is preceded in death by his son, Blane Land; three brothers, one sister, four brothers-in-law, three sisters-in-law; his parents and parents-in-law.

As his niece, Wilder Scott-Straight wrote, "This beautiful, thoughtful man, quietly departed our sphere on March 26, 2021, just after his 90th birthday. He made you feel comfortable in his quiet presence and always had a story to tell if you asked right.

'He was struck by lightning as a child in the Florida backwoods, traveled to Nicaragua because of a newspaper ad my grandfather placed, married my aunt in Nicaragua, then was drafted during the Korean War. My mother loved Culver and I named my child after him partly for that love - and for my own.

'He said you could fix anything with a big enough roll of duct tape, which I believe must be true. He was a strong, kind, and humble man who was not afraid to admit he didn't have all the answers, except he did, in fact, have most of them. He will be so very, very missed."

A memorial service will be held later this year.