Wilmuth Deweese

Wilmuth Lester Deweese, age 94, of Leitchfield, KY passed away Tuesday, November 1st 2016 of natural causes at the Bee Hive Assisted Living facility in Leitchfield. He was born August 16th 1922 in the Gilstrap community of Butler County, KY, the son of Olen Lester & Martha Evelyn (Warren) Deweese. He was a Wolrd War II Navy Veteran, a district superintendent for Warren RECC and a retired farmer. ​He is survived by three children, David M. Deweese (Judith), Diane Lee (Don), and Martha Brown, two sisters, Gwendolyn Beck (Oran) and Jo Appling (Jouett), eight grandchildren, and twenty-one great grandchildren. ​Other than his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Jo (Bond) Deweese, and one grandchild, Justin Douglas Deweese. ​Growing up in the Great Depression era, his family alternated between Gilstrap, KY and Indianapolis, IN. He graduated from Butler County High School in 1939 and went to work in the Kaiser shipyards in the Vancouver, Washington area. ​He enlisted in the U.S. Navy on Mar. 6, 1943 and went to 'boot camp' at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, IL. After technical training he was assigned to Navy Air Corp Squadron VP-12 flying in PBY-5 Catalina's. His squadron saw duty at Midway, Fiji Islands, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, New Georgia, Espiritu Santo, and Pearl Harbor. In 1944 the squadron was transferred to Hutchinson, KS to train for the new PB4Y-2 Privateer aircraft. The squadron was re-designated VPB-120. Upon completion of training, the squadron was transferred to Shemya Island (land of the 60 MPH fog) at the far western end of the Aleutian Islands. He made anti-shipping patrols over the Kuril Islands. On Dec. 18, 1945 he was separated from the Navy with an Honorobale Discharge as an Aviation Machinist Mate 2nd Class. He then enrolled in Western Kentucky State Teachers College utilizing the G.I. Bill. ​With a new family, he began a 40 year career with the Warren RECC as a ground man at Morgantown, KY. Upon promotion to lineman he learned the fine art of 'skinning the pole'. In the fall of 1953 he was promoted to District Superintendent and transferred to Leitchfield, KY. ​He was a member of the Leitchfield Independent School System school board, a member of the Leitchfield City Council and Mayor of Leitchfield, KY. He was also a member of the Rotary Club and a Mason. ​He retired in 1991 to his farm in Millwood, KY. His greatest pleasure was to sit on the tailgate of his pickup and watch his beloved Black Angus cattle graze the pastures. ​He will be remembered for his famous 'Wilmuth Deweese grin'.