Philip Frederic Ashler

Rear Admiral Philip Frederic Ashler, U.S. Navy (ret.) and the 19th Treasurer of Florida, age 94, passed away Monday, April 27, 2009, at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Elise Duvall Ashler.
Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday, April 30, at 2 p.m. EDT at St. John's Episcopal Church in Tallahassee, Fla. A reception for family and friends will follow the service in the church parish hall. Interment is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday at Roselawn Cemetery in Tallahassee, with full military honors.
Gifts in memory of Adm. Ashler may be made to Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32308; or to St. John's Episcopal Church, 211 North Monroe St., Tallahassee, FL 32301.
Born in Ridgewood, N.Y., Adm. Ashler came to Florida in 1960 and lived in Tallahassee since 1969. He was a communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church, where he was a licensed lay Eucharistic minister and coordinator of lay ministers for more than 30 years. He graduated cum laude in 1935 with a bachelor's degree in business administration from St. John's University in New York City, and in 1937 with a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. He is a 1956 graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C., and he did advance graduate studies at Christ Church, University of Oxford in England.
He enlisted in the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve in 1932 and was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1938. He retired in 1959 with the rank of Rear Admiral. He served on the USS Arkansas and the USS Nevada and in several foreign stations. He completed three north Atlantic convoys, escorting more than 1,500 ships during the early days of World War II, and later participated in the D-Day Normandy invasion of France, Iowa Jima landings and in the Korean conflict.
He received the Korean Presidential Citation and the French Medille du Jubile. When Secretary of the Navy James Forestal decorated Adm. Ashler with the Bronze Star for his heroic service during the invasion of France, Forestal said, "By his leadership, professional skill and devotion to duty, Commander Ashler upheld the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. Commander Ashler is authorized to wear the combat V." Adm. Ashler was also authorized to wear the badges of the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for service to those organizations. He also opened the first school at Radcliffe College for WAVES.
After retirement, he was an instructor and administrator at Pensacola Junior College from 1960 to 1968. During that assignment, he developed an interest in converting the Junior College into a full four-year state college and sought election to the Florida Legislature to effect the change. He served three terms as a representative of Escambia County.
With the aid of then-Sen. Reubin Askew he succeeded in creating the University of West Florida and retaining the Junior College. The University of West Florida awarded Ashler its first Honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1969. He was also awarded the Honorary Doctor of Science by the Florida Institute of Technology. At the 60th Reunion of the Class of '37, the Dean of Faculties of the Harvard Business School conferred the title ALUMNUS NOBILISSIMUS on the admiral in recognition of his 60 years of fund raising efforts.
In 1969, he resigned his House seat to accept the position of Vice Chancellor of the State University System, where he served seven years, and advanced to Executive Vice Chancellor. In 1974, following the suspension of the State Treasurer, Ashler was appointed Treasurer of Florida, Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshall. He chose not to run for this Cabinet post, and was special advisor for small business to Gov. Askew. In 1977, Ashler was appointed Florida's Secretary of Commerce, a position he filled for two years.
In 1981-1982, he was the founding Chairman of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. He also served as chairman emeritus of the Economic Club of Florida, the Tiger Bay Club of Tallahassee, and the Florida International Volunteer Corps. He was a Scottish Rite Mason (32nd degree) and a Rotarian. The Economic Club presented its Distinguished Floridian Award to him in 2005.
The Ashlers traveled extensively throughout the world and enjoyed their homes in Tangier, Morocco, and a mountain retreat at Cataloochee Ranch, N.C.
In addition to his wife, Adm. Ashler is survived by his sons, Philip Ashler Jr., Jeff Duvall and Richard Duvall, all of Tallahassee, Robert Ashler of Destin, Fla., and Harrison Ashler of Pensacola, Fla.; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Bevis Funeral Home (850/385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com), Tallahassee, is handling arrangements.