Ashley DeWitte “Dick” Pace, Jr., a pioneering Naval aviator, passionate businessman, sportsman, philanthropist, and champion for his lifelong home of Pensacola, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2022, at the age of 102.

Dick was born to Ashley DeWitte Pace and Grace Owen Pace on August 22, 1919. He and his wife, the former Jane Noonan, were married for 76 years prior to her death in 2020.

His family members remember him as a quiet hero who made them want to be their best selves. He was a true gentleman with hallmarks of moderation, kindness, generosity, wisdom, and grace.

Dick’s zeal for flying knew no limits and no time, as he took to the skies just over a year ago as a passenger in a vintage SNJ advanced trainer, the last Navy training aircraft he flew before he was designated a Naval aviator in 1942.

With World War II raging in Europe, he had enlisted in the Navy during spring break of his senior year of college. After he received his Wings of Gold, he instructed in the N2S Stearman primary trainer, then received fighter and carrier training in the Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat. Assigned to the newly formed fighter squadron VF-92, he conducted numerous combat air patrols and air strikes in the Pacific.

In recent years, Dick was a supporter and regular participant in Veterans Flight, a program in which Stearman owners fly World War II veterans over Pensacola Beach as part of the Blue Angels Air Show. On one such flight, when he was 89, he took the controls to perform a few maneuvers, including a loop.  

“It was just a good, friendly airplane,” he would later recall. “It would not let you down.”

Dick left the Navy after the war, but his allegiance to the service never wavered. He donated all his military memorabilia to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, where he was a lifetime member and a volunteer guide until just a few years ago. The museum graciously allowed him to temporarily reclaim his perfectly fitting flight suit for his flights as a veteran.

He was a member of the Navy League, the Order of Daedalians, composed of American military pilots, and the Tailhook Association, whose members support sea-based aviation.

After the war, Dick and his brother, Thomas M. Pace, formed Gulf Paper Co. and employed several hundred people to manufacture food containers and shipping boxes for businesses throughout the South. The business was later sold to St. Regis Paper Co. (now International Paper Co.). New World Landing in downtown Pensacola is now the site of Gulf Paper’s building.

As much as he relished flying, Dick also loved yachting and sailing. He was the senior member of the Pensacola Yacht Club.  

He frequently took his 41-foot Hatteras yacht, the Phantom, out on Pensacola Bay for family outings, watching Fourth of July fireworks or anchoring at Deer Point. He also traveled to numerous ports on the Gulf Coast, the Keys and Fort Lauderdale.

In 1947 and 1948, he, and his brother, along with a talented crew, raced their father’s 51-foot sloop, the White Heather, from St. Petersburg to Havana, Cuba, winning third place in what was one of the most prestigious sailing events of that era. Then, in 2015, when the U.S. was attempting to normalize relations with Cuba, a new, 584-mile regatta from Pensacola Bay to Havana, called the Pensacola a La Habana race, was set. Dick and his brother provided the Pace Perpetual Trophy, a magnificently restored Pensacola Yacht Club cup, for the overall winner.

In other endeavors on the water, Dick enjoyed scuba diving and spear fishing. With his brother, he helped form the Escambia County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team.

The YMCA provided an outlet for Dick to pursue other sports he enjoyed, including swimming, badminton, and handball. His diverse interests also ranged from racing in Sports Car Club of America events to singing in barbershop quartets.

In 1973, he represented Don Tristan DeLuna XXIV, the Spanish conquistador who presides over the annual Fiesta of Five Flags that celebrates Pensacola’s heritage as the first European settlement in America.

Dick’s childhood, except for four years in Savannah, GA, was spent in Pensacola. He attended local schools until entering Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, GA, for his senior year of high school. After 23 times on the Honor Roll, he graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1937.

He attended Georgia Tech his freshman year in college, then transferred to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, graduating in 1941 with a degree in business administration. He pledged Sigma Alpha Epsilon at Georgia Tech and continued that membership at Dartmouth.

Dick is survived by his daughter, Marcia Pace Lindstrom and her husband, Fred; his son, Ashley DeWitte Pace III and his wife, Judy; his grandchildren, Christopher Pennewill Jr. and his wife, Betsy, Ashley Pace Pennewill, Ellison DeWitte Pennewill, Ashley DeWitte Pace IV, and Angela Grace Pace Forth and her husband, Chris; his great-grandchildren, Christopher Pennewill III, Siddie Pennewill, Hudson Forth, and Rhodes Forth; his step-grandson, Eric Lindstrom, and his wife, Marianne, and their daughter, Selah; his nephew, Thomas M. Pace Jr.; his nieces, Carolyn Pace Pinkerton and Frances Pace Blake; and other special cousins and family members.

The family will forever be indebted to Dick’s caregivers whose devotion and dedication knew no bounds. They include Viola Jackson, Linda Seitz, Debra Jordan and Pat Simmons as well as others who cared for his wife. The family also appreciates the compassionate care that Emerald Coast Hospice provided at his home during the last week of his life.

Dick was a lifelong member of Christ Church, serving on the vestry and in other capacities. A memorial service will be held 10:30am Saturday, March 5, 2022, at Christ Episcopal Church, followed by a reception at the Pensacola Yacht Club. The service will be streamed on YouTube for those who are unable to come in person.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Christ Church Open Doors Capital Campaign, 18 W. Wright St., Pensacola, FL 32501 or the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, 1750 Radford Blvd. Suite B, Pensacola, FL 32508.