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Rev. Bill Fleming 1948 - 2007 |
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On November 9, 2007 our beloved "Father Bill" passed into eternal life after battling pancreatic cancer. Rev. Fleming was born in New London, CT, son of William J. and Virginia Lee (Edwards) Fleming of San Diego, CA. He is survived by his wife Bonnie Fleming, parents, his two brothers, John E. Fleming and his wife Denise, and Jeffrey P. Fleming and his wife Rhonda, two nieces and two nephews, Bryan, Laura, and Andrew Fleming and Loralee Dimkoff. For those knew him, it was clear that seafaring was his passion. He had spent some time as a crew member aboard a sailing ship, and had dreams of becoming part of the U.S. Coast Guard. Though Bill would know a different calling as a pastor to seafarers, he received accolades from the U.S. Coast Guard for his service on the Boston waterfront. See U.S.C.G. Citation Rev. Fleming was a noteworthy model ship builder, serving terms as captain of the San Diego and USS Constitution (Boston) model shipwright guilds, and spent six years as the manager for the Nautical Research Guild. He constructed 45 models and restored and repaired over 50 others. Most notably, he constructed a model of the sail training ship DANMARK, which is on permanent display at the U.S. Coast Guard Museum at the Academy in New London, CT. More recently, Rev. Fleming became an acclaimed and sought after biblical story teller. He told over 50 different bible stories. Rev. Fleming was also a skilled educator, who produced and presented educational materials in many formats. He achieved an EMMY and Outstanding Church Educator of the Year award in the MA Conference of the UCC. Here at Seafarer's Friend, Bill showed his dedication to the future generation by mentoring ministry students to become future ship visitors. Seafarer's Friend, in partnership with Bill, has set up a memorial fund to sponsor hands-on training for those ministry students who wish to follow in "Father Bill's" footsteps. See William Fleming Fund He will be deeply missed.
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