Obituary of William-E. Pace

Dr. William E. Pace Dr. William E. "Bill" Pace, 78, died Friday, May 2, 2008, at his home. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Gwen B. Pace. The service will be at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 6, at Saint Paul's United Methodist Church, 1700 N. Meridian Road in Tallahassee. A private burial will take place at Riverside Cemetery in Marianna.The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today, May 5, at the Parlor of the church. Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193) is handling arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to Tallahassee Lions Club Foundation, P.O. Box 133, Tallahassee, FL 32302 or to Southeastern Guide Dogs, 4210 77th Street East, Palmetto, FL 34221.Dr. Pace was born December 15, 1929, in Marianna and received his DMV from the University of Georgia. He practiced veterinary medicine in Graceville for a year and a half, before being called to active duty in the United States Air Force. After serving two years in the Air Force, he returned to Marianna and became very active in civic affairs.He served as president of the Marianna Jaycee's, president of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the Board of Directors of Jackson Hospital and was elected to the Jackson County Board of County Commissioners. After a little over four years, Dr. Pace was recalled to active duty in the USAF and sent to Odana, Turkey.He decided to make the Air Force a career and in 1980, Col. Pace retired after 28 years of service. At the time of his retirement he was serving as Deputy Assistant Surgeon General. While in the Air Force he had overseas tours in Turkey, Germany, and Southeast Asia. During this time he also received a master degree in Food Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served a tour on loan to the US Atomic Energy Commission, where he directed aspects of the food irradiation program.Following his retirement from the Air Force, Dr. Pace spent 16 years with the Florida Department of Agriculture. During this time he held duty assignments as chief of the Bureau of Contagious and Infectious Disease, Assistant Director of the Division of Inspection (now the Division of Agricultural Service), Director of Division of Inspection and Director of the Division of Animal Industry and retired as State Veterinarian.After retiring from the Department of Agriculture, he volunteered with the Ombudsmen Council for 8 years. He was past district governor of Lions International, District 35-F. A member of Tallahassee Lions Club for 50 years, he served as president in 2003-04, was named Lion of the year 1998-99 and was a Melvin Jones Fellow.Dr. Pace was also a member of Saint Paul's United Methodist Church, where he was a member of the Burleigh Law Sunday School Class. Other survivors include two sons, Donald Pace (Sonya) of Tallahassee, and Douglass E. Pace (Julie) of Belleair, Fla.; a sister, Willa Jean Dudley, and brother-in-law Ben Dudley, both of Chattahoochee; a step-son, Daniel William Nelson of Tallahassee; and three grandchildren, James William Pace, Catherine Rae Pace and William E. Pace II.