Willie V. Canaday's Obituary
Willie V. Canaday, 91, born in Lillington, NC to Hubert and Vivie Draughan Canaday, passed away Thursday, March 7, 2019. Willie served in the Navy in both WWII and Korean Wars. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Engineering in 1957. Willie is survived by his wife Barbara, his son Dennis (wife Terry) of Hudson, his daughter Belle Taylor (husband Thomas) of St. Petersburg, his granddaughter Laura LaBelle (husband Avery) of Fredricksburg, VA and his granddaughter Savannah Taylor of St. Petersburg. He has two great-grandchildren, Lucy and Willie LaBelle of Fredricksburg, VA. Willie served with the Corps of Engineers at Homestead AFB during the Cuban Missile Crisis; supervised construction of the airfield and hospital. He designed launch pads at Cape Canaveral and at MacDill AFB supervised construction of the Strike Command Building, among several other military projects. his civilian projects included deepening of Tampa Harbor, the Cross Bayou Flood Control project, the Skyway disaster. He was appointed as Liaison Officer of the new American Embassy in Russia, and the building of the first lighted airfield in Honduras. He earned a Presidential Award in 1977 from President Gerald Ford, and a key to the City of St. Petersburg. He retired from the Corps in 1986. He is a former member of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club and the President of the Propeller Club, the Vinoy Golf Club and the Sun City Golf Club. Services with military honors will be at Bay Pines National Cemetery on Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 2:30pm.
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