George Wyatt FEE

FEE, George Wyatt

93, pioneering Temple Terrace leader, passed away February 1, 2017. George Fee's record of service to our country and the Tampa Bay area was outstanding, including service during WWII, twelve years as the mayor of Temple Terrace, and over fifty years as an active member of Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church.

In 1941, at the age of 16, with his step-father's authorization, George entered the WWII fight in North Africa as a member of the 81st Airborne, in charge of the C-47 gliders for the Allies' invasion of Sicily.

Soon after the war, he met his wife, Frances Christine Pittard, a college graduate working as a nutritionist in a local hospital in Virginia Beach. Referred to as "Pitt" by her friends, Frances was beautiful, classy, and from a good family; in George's mind, she was everything he was not. Throughout their life, she would inspire George to better himself, beginning with the requirement that he finish high school before they married. George and Pitt had two daughters, Pamela and Margaret.

In the mid-1950s the family moved to the Temple Terrace area so George could take a position as General Manager of one of Tampa Bay's first rock-n-roll radio stations, WALT.

Eventually, recognition of Temple Terrace's potential as a beautiful place for people and families, Fee left the radio business to dive into real estate development and construction. As a developer, he helped to transform the city's topography from orange groves and dirt roads, into more neighborhoods with high-quality homes and paved and lighted streets he named after relatives, friends, and favored politicians.

George's commitment to Temple Terrace began with public office. From 1962 to 1974, Fee was elected to the office of Mayor of Temple Terrace for six consecutive two-year terms. During that time the city's population accelerated rapidly and Fee instituted many improvements to guide that development including the building of the Lightfoot Recreational Center at 56th Street and Whiteway Drive; a comprehensive street lighting program; city-owned tennis courts; an efficient sewage treatment plan; and the building of Riverhills Elementary School.

After his last term as mayor, Fee continued to contribute to the community, playing an instrumental role in founding the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce (serving as its President for a short term); serving as a founding member of the Board of Directors for Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI); serving on the executive board for the Florida League of Cities and the Temple Terrace steering committee tasked with desegregating the areas elementary schools and the Code Enforcement Board which created and oversaw a comprehensive zoning plan for Temple Terrace. In 2013, the Temple Terrace Chamber of Commerce recognized George Fee as "Outstanding Citizen of the Year" for the years 1974-1975.

Perhaps even more remarkable than his long list of accomplishments was the energy, enthusiasm and sense of humor he brought to every person he met all along the way to his very last days. The wisdom behind his razor sharp wit, the deep resonance of his quick and contagious laugh, and the sheer unpredictability of his many and varied pranks made him a larger than life character. He not only changed the community of Temple Terrace for the better, he positively impacted the lives of nearly anyone who would let him, including the young waiters and waitresses he befriended as a frequent patron of First Watch and Carrabbas restaurants in the last decade of his life.

George Wyatt Fee is survived by his daughters, Pamela Fee O'Neal and Margaret Fee Nixon and their husbands, Edward O'Neal and Rick Nixon; his granddaughters, Susan Anne O'Neal and Jennifer Wyatt O'Neal; his great-grandchildren, Addison Christine Gear, Madeleine Cady Gear, and Ethan Michael Gear. He was preceded by his wife, Frances Pittard Fee and his grandson, Jeffrey Tyler Nixon.

Memorial service, on Monday, February 6, 11 am, at Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church, 420 Bullard Parkway, Temple Terrace, FL 33617. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in George Fee's name to the Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church or to Metropolitan Ministries.