Frank Joseph (Jay) Fearnside III

Frank Joseph Fearnside, III (Jay) left us on Thursday, March 27, 2025 to be in the arms of His Lord and Savior, Jesus.   He was born in Jacksonville, Florida on November 27,1936 to Frank Joseph and Mary Angeline Fearnside.   He grew up in Palatka, Florida, where he attended and graduated from Palatka Senior High School and went on to attend Georgia Tech.   As a child, he spent every summer with his family at their mountain home in Hendersonville and continued the tradition with his own children, eventually retiring to Hendersonville in 1998. 

He served his country for four years in the Air Force, where he was stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California.   

He spent his career as a civil engineer with the Department of Transportation in Florida, but his greater service was to his Lord.  He was a founding member of Wildwood Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee, Florida and served as its interim preacher until a pastor was hired.       Upon the formation of the Presbyterian Church of America, he was appointed the moderator of the Gulf Coast Presbytery.  He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church for at least fifty years.  

Jay leaves behind his wife of 67 years, Shirley Meinke Fearnside; his sister Bebe; his three sons and their spouses: Craig (Connie), Scot (Rebecca) and Frank;  four grandchildren: Corey, Zach (wife Amy), Samantha (husband Alex) and Mason; and his sister-in-law Linda Krall and niece, Jamie Krall.

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