Porter FEAREY
Obituary

Porter Fearey, a retired San Antonio businessman and former resident of Olmos Park, as well as a prominent Episcopal churchman, died May 24 at his home in New Braunfels.

He founded two companies which distributed commercial refrigeration equipment throughout South Texas for 10 years. An active layman at state and area levels of the Episcopal Church, Fearey was elected to the executive board of the Diocese of West Texas for several three year terms. He was a member of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas Department of Finance for 25 years and a delegate to the Texas Conference of Churches for 19 years.

A native of Albany, New York, he was born June 27, 1918, the son of Porter and Elizabeth Boyd Martin Fearey. His great-grandfather, Seth Wheeler, was the inventor of paper perforation and president of the APW Paper Company of Albany, NY. Fearey attended the Loomis School, Windsor, CT and Williams College, Williamstown, MA.

As a member of the New York National Guard Seventh Regiment, he was called to active duty 10 months before Pearl Habor and later transferred to the U.S. Army Air Corps and commissioned a lieutenant as a bombardier navigator.

Following his post war service in the Air Force Reserves and Texas State Guard, Fearey retired as a Colonel in 1979 after nearly 38 years of military service. He married the former Mary King Estill of Estill, MO. on May 14 at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi, Texas.

She was a Women's Air Force Service Pilot. After World War II they made their home in New Braunfels and traveled extensively throughout the world. She preceded him in death in 1989. Since retirement, Fearey had devoted his time actively to game management and wildlife preservation programs on his La Salle County ranch on the Frio River. Active in the Republican Party, Fearey served as a delegate to its state convention from 1960 to 1974. He was a member of the Republican Presidential Advisory Commission. Fearey was a Rotary Club Paul Harris Fellow, a former vestryman and senior warden of St. John's Episcopal Church, New Braunfels, and a member of the Golden Circle of Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research.

For 10 years he was a commander of the Texas Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and was listed in Who's Who in the South and Southwest.

Fearey was a member of the San Antonio Downtown Rotary Club, the New Braunfels, San Antonio, and South Texas Chambers of Commerce, Explorer's Club and Williams Club of New York City, Sons of the American Revolution, St Nicolas Society of New York, St. George's Society, Society of Colonial Wars, Kappa Alpha Society, The Argyle, The San Antonio Country Club, and the Corpus Christi Yacht Club.

His military organization memberships, include the American Legion, Military Order of World Wars, Reserve Officers Association, Retired Officers Association, Armed Forces Communications and Electronic Association, Military Order of Foreign Wars and the American Ordnance Society.

He is survived by his daughter of Tucson, AZ; three grandchildren, and two great grandsons.

Memorial servive will be Saturday, June 4 at St. John's Episcopal Church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research or to the charity of one's choice. Porter Loring Funeral Home.

New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung dated May 31, 1994



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