BELFAST – Col. Fleetwood Pride Jr., U.S. Air Force, retired, and beloved husband of Marion J. Pride, died Sunday, May 27, 2012. Born Oct. 21, 1922, in Waterville, he was the son of Fleetwood Albert Pride and Inez (Quigg) Pride of Abbot.
Fleetwood was a 1940 graduate of Guilford High School. He graduated with the class of 1944 with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maine, and in 1959 received his master’s degree in education from Tufts University. He met his wife, Marion, in South Montville, in 1940. They were married in 1947. Col. Pride was a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the Maine Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force, where he served with distinction for 36 years. His decorations include the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with eight oak leaf clusters, World War II Victory Medal and Vietnam Service Medal. He was loved, supported and accompanied by Marion on many assignments as they raised their six children in stations as far afield as Germany, Alaska, California and Alabama. He served two tours in Vietnam. In 1979 he retired from the Air Force moving to Belfast, where the Prides’ lifetime involvement in their communities found a new home. Fleet served as chairman of the Belfast City Planning Board for several terms. He was a trustee of Belfast Water District, chairman of the board of directors of Waldo County Committee for Social Action/Waldo Community Action Partners for 20 years, as well as serving on the board of directors for Waldo County YMCA. Fleet also served on the board of directors for Military Officers Association of America. Belfast United Methodist Church played a major role in the Prides’ lives; he served in such functions as lay leader and as a member of most church committees throughout the years. A service of which he was particularly proud was his tenure of more than 30 years delivering Meals On Wheels with Marion throughout the Belfast community. Fleet was a devoted and loving husband and father, and a steadfast friend to many. He shared his lifetime love of fishing and exploring the Maine woods, waters and wilderness with his friends and grandchildren. Fleet’s voice, his laugh, his long colorful stories and terrible jokes will be profoundly missed.
His parents; brothers, Waldon and Roland; and sisters, Lona Tower and Doris Emerson predeceased Fleet. He is survived by his wife, Marion; children, Fleetwood Martin Pride and his partner, Marilyn Larson, Ernest Pride and wife, Martha, Kenneth Pride and wife, Mary Beth, Marilyn Chapman and husband, Geoff, Laurel Buchmiller and husband, Gordon, and Joanne Ritchie and husband, Ian; and 11 grandchildren.
A memorial service, with a reception afterward, will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 13, at Belfast United Methodist Church, 23 Mill Lane, Belfast, with the Rev. Jinwoo Chun officiating. Interment will be private and held at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations may be made to Belfast United Methodist Church, 14 Mill Lane, Belfast, ME 04915; Waldo County YMCA, 157 Lincolnville Ave., Belfast, ME 04915 or Waldo County Home Health Care and Hospice, P.O. Box 287, Belfast, ME 04915. Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 9 Mountain St., Camden. Condolences, photos and memories may be shared with the Pride family by visiting their book of memories at
www.longfuneralhomecamden.com.