Edgar Allen Fleetwood Jr.
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Edgar Allen Fleetwood, Jr., 93, of Charlotte, passed away on Tuesday, September 24, 2019. He was born in Clarksburg, WV on June 27, 1926. He was the son of the late Dr. Edgar Allen Fleetwood and Fannie Harrison Fleetwood. Edgar married the love of his life, Shirley Hunt Fleetwood, on November 6, 1950.
In 1940, he entered Greenbrier Military School in Lewisburg, WV. Ed cherished the four years he spent there as a cadet. After he graduated in June 1944, he enrolled at Duke University, but was only there for 19 days when he was called to active duty in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Ed served in the Pacific Theater as a radio operator and gunner on B-17 Bombers. He was stationed in Okinawa and was later assigned to General Douglas MacArthur's aircraft named "Bataan." Throughout his life, Ed was a devout patriot.
Ed went back to Duke after the war and graduated with the Class of 1950. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, the Pre-Med Society of Duke, the Benzene Ring, the Honorary Chemistry Club, and the Phi Beta Biology Club. He graduated with a BS in Chemistry.
In 1950, Ed met Shirley in Weston, WV, where they were married in November. They moved to New Haven, WV, where Ed worked for the American Electric Service Corporation as an engineering management trainee. In 1952, they welcomed their first child, Nancy Jean Fleetwood. In 1957, they moved to Rock Hill, SC, where Ed worked as Laboratory Manager for the Celanese Corporation. In 1960, they had their second child, Edgar Allen Fleetwood, III.
The family moved to Newport News, VA in 1958, where Ed became the Quality Control Manager for Dow Badische Chemical Company. He loved taking the family on fishing trips and pulling Nancy and Allen on water skis. In 1975, they moved to Charlotte, NC, where Ed was elected Vice President of Voigt England Chemical Company. He tried retirement at age 65, but soon after began a second career with the U.S. Small Business Administration in Charlotte. Trading on his business background and love for the military, Ed advised veterans establishing small businesses after leaving the service. He retired when he was 85 after 21 years of service for which he received a personal commendation from the Administrator of the Small Business Administration in DC.
As a lifelong Episcopalian, Ed served on the Vestry of each Episcopal Church that he attended. He was a member of the English Speaking Union and Carmel Country Club. He was an active member of the Greenbrier Military School Alumni Association, the Duke University Alumni Association and his fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. He also was a Charter Member of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
Ed was devoted to his wife and his two children. He took particular pride and joy in his two granddaughters and five great-grandsons to whom he was affectionately known as "Daddy Ed." He loved dancing and would float Shirley across the room for a waltz or lead everyone in the electric slide. He loved music, reading and gardening, and had a special interest in his family history. He had a mischievous wit and a contagious sense of humor. He was a gentle man, always patient and forever understanding.
Shirley predeceased him on July 19, 2019. They are survived by daughter, Nancy Fleetwood Miller and her husband, James Forrest Miller, of Alexandria, VA; son, Edgar Allen Fleetwood, III, of Charlotte; his granddaughters, Caroline Miller Withers, her husband, Christopher Withers and sons, Jack Christopher Withers, Camden James Withers, and Wyatt Fleetwood Withers, of Charlotte; and Kathleen Miller O'Gara, her husband, Grady O'Gara, and sons, Rowan Patrick O'Gara and Miller Fleetwood O'Gara of Atlanta, GA; Shirley's sister, Kay Hunt Davis of La Canada, CA; and niece and nephew, Sherry Lynn Davis and Esker Bruce Davis.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday, October 1, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC, with the Reverend Joan Kilian officiating. A reception will follow the service in the Parish Hall. Interment for both Edgar and Shirley will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Christ Episcopal Church, 1412 Providence Road, Charlotte, NC 28207.