Friday Obits & moreCoyote |
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Master and Commander Posts: 1239 Location: NE Florida | Subject: Friday Obits & more https://www.facebook.com/ussvi.eternalpatrol/ The above link goes to the USSVI (United States Submarine Veterans, Inc.) Facebook page where their members who have gone on “Eternal Patrol” are noted. I’ll keep my work here going, trying to get others who were not USSVI members. You’re encouraged to look there as well as here! Obviously, there’ll be some I miss and some I duplicate. ROWE .. .. .. The Reverend Robert Allen Rowe of Lake Placid died June 18, 2025, the day after his ninety-fifth birthday. Born in Margaretville, NY, on June 17, 1930, son of Ernest and Winifred Rowe, graduated from Margaretville High School (1948) and served in the US Navy Submarine Service during the Korean War. After his discharge, Bob graduated from Syracuse University and Boston University and became a pastor in the Central New York Conference of the United Methodist Church, serving in Syracuse and Rochester as well as half a dozen other parishes in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. Bob loved reading, especially history related to the colonial and Revolutionary War periods and the Methodist circuit riding preachers of that time; and he became very knowledgeable in genealogy, tracking his own and others’ family histories using primary sources and church records. Bob was predeceased by his wife of fifty-five years, Mary Jane (Elwood) Rowe, and his two older siblings, Clayton and Arlene. He is survived by a sister, Virginia (Ginny), of Rome, NY, three sons, Robert of Atlanta, GA, Bruce (Susan Hoffer) of Lake Placid, NY, and James (Ellen), of Lyons, NY, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, as well as nieces and nephews. There will be a burial gathering in the Margaretville Cemetery Annex with a view of Bob’s favorite mountain, Pakitaken, later this summer. Bob’s family wishes to thank all his caregivers and High Peaks Hospice for all they did for him during his final days. Bob will be remembered as a man who loved the mountains and forests, wildflowers and birds of New York State, and as a man who lived the principles he loved. WINDLE .. .. .. Ralph Edward Windle Sr. passed away peacefully at the age of 87 surrounded by loved ones. A devoted husband, father, and patriot, Ralph dedicated his life to service, both in uniform and in his community. Ralph was born at the Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 1937 to George Cecil Windle and Marguerite Smithey Windle. After graduating from Loudoun County High School's first class in 1955, Ralph enlisted in the Navy and married his high school sweetheart, Mary Jane Benedum. Later, Ralph received a full commission as an officer after graduating from Vanderbilt University with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and attending Officer Candidate School in 1966. During his 24-year naval career, Ralph served aboard a variety of diesel submarines and surface-warfare ships. He was also a respected instructor, teaching at the Surface Warfare Officers School (SWOS), Officer Candidate School (OCS), and the Destroyer School. Ralph's service included a tour in Vietnam aboard the USS King rescuing American pilots shot down over the sea. While in the service of the Navy, Ralph earned several honors including: the Vietnam Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, and the Submarine Warfare Insignia. After retiring from Naval service in 1979 as a Lieutenant Commander, Ralph became an instructor of electronics, physics and math at the M.E.B.A. Engineering School in Easton, Maryland. He completed his career as the plant manager for Supreme Concrete Block in Leesburg, VA until he retired in 1996. Beyond his naval career, Ralph gave back to his community by coaching Little League, where he mentored and inspired countless young athletes. Ralph was a Freemason Past Master of the Coats Lodge No. 102 in Easton, Maryland, and a member of the Scottish Rite. Among his numerous hobbies, he and his wife were members of the Model-T Club where they toured throughout the United States with other Model-T enthusiasts. Ralph was a devout Christian, first finding Christ as a youth at Camp Highroad in Middleburg, Virginia. He was an active church member wherever he lived, including the First Presbyterian Church in Newport, Rhode Island, Easton Baptist Church in Easton, Maryland, and Leesburg Baptist Church in Leesburg, Virginia. In his life, he served in numerous volunteer roles within the church, including Deacon, Sunday school teacher, and building committee chairman. Ralph had a beautiful voice and memorized every verse of hundreds of hymns while singing with the church choir. Most recently, he was a member of the Round Hill Baptist Church participating in bible study groups and frequently leading prayers. Ralph was predeceased by his brother David Windle, and sister Mary Alice Wertz. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Mary Jane Windle, their children Ralph Windle Jr. (Susan), Patricia Weise (Michael), JoLynn Hurley (Mark), Donald Windle (Lisa), and Charles Windle (Christine) as well as 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister Ann Gremillion and brother Tom Hutchinson. Ralph was an incredible role model for his entire family. He always thought of others first, and the kindness he showed to everyone he met was inspiring. Ralph will be remembered for his sense of humor, strong faith, integrity, and the steady love he gave to his family, friends, and community. DICKINSON .. .. .. Robert (Bob) Dickinson was a man of quiet strength, a member of a truly remarkable generation, the WWII veterans, and specifically, a proud member of the “Silent Service”, the U. S. Navy’s Submarine force. He embodied the spirit of the Silent Service, performing his duty with immense skill and courage, often in the face of incredible danger especially while serving onboard the USS Queenfish SS-383. RIP BRAVE SOUL. THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COUNTRY. A TRUE HERO HAS ENTERED INTO HEAVEN. “Bob, you stand relieved, rest your oar. Rest in peace. You stood your watch well. We have the watch.” “Fair winds and following seas” Bob was a former Heritage Hills resident and recently resided near his family in Long Island, NY. AND, for the Fourth of July, a note that one WW2 smoke-boat celebrated: Muskegon's USS Silversides celebrates Fourth of July with special engine start To mark Independence Day, the battle-hardened boat will rev up its engine at noon on Saturday, made possible by a fresh oil change. MUSKEGON, Mich. — This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, which the USS Silversides served in throughout its entirety. To honor this, as well as celebrate Independence Day, the submarine will have a special engine start in Muskegon this weekend. “The fact that she still exists today, and we can celebrate 80 years that we had ended that war is really special,” Scott Hardin, curator of the USS Silversides, said. Surviving this long is no small feat for a vessel like the Silversides. Around 200 submarines were built for World War II, and more than 50 of them were sunk by enemies. Even among the submarines that made it back, few, if any, had more combat success than the Silversides, which sank 30 Japanese ships and damaged a dozen more – all with just one crewmember death throughout the war. “There's no submarine that's not on the bottom of the ocean or scrapped that exists today that sank more ships than Silversides, literally anywhere in the world,” Hardin said. To mark Independence Day, the battle-hardened boat will rev up its engine at noon tomorrow, made possible by a fresh oil change — the submarine’s first since as early as the 1940s. The goal is to preserve the Silversides as a time capsule — brutal wartime conditions and all. “With 70 guys on board, they never showered. So you can only imagine the environment it would have been like down here,” Hardin said. “With all of that going on, you're in enemy territory. It's extremely dangerous. You're always being hunted, and it just wasn't a pleasant place to be.” The crew on board facing those harsh conditions was young. “The Silversides actually had a record of two sailors at different times throughout the war celebrating their 17th birthday on board while they were at sea,” Hardin said. “If you were in your mid 20s on a submarine in World War II, you were an old guy.” Although few, if any, of the submarine’s World War II sailors are still alive, the oil change is in hopes of preserving their memory. “We decided to keep running the engines just to honor them,” Hardin said. “Because it's one thing to walk through it, but it's a completely different experience to walk through that submarine while the engines are running and making heat and making the noises that these guys would have heard while they were at war on that boat.” Edited by Coyote 2025-07-04 11:24 AM | ||
