William Robert "Bob" Preston (Cdr., USN Ret.)

William Robert "Bob" Preston, (Cdr., USN Ret.), born September 15, 1922 to the parents of William Thomas Preston and Florence Ella Elsea, passed away peacefully on Memorial Day, May 29, 2017 at Peachtree Christian Hospice. He was predeceased by his loving bride of 70 years, Norma June Preston, and son, Kerry Michael Preston. He leaves behind his daughter, Leanna G. Brown, Sugar Hill; granddaughters, Ashley R. Walter (Michael Walter), Sugar Hill; Amy M. Turner (Nathaniel Turner), Powder Springs; Erin Preston McCullough (Travis McCullough) Gainesville, Florida; Corey A. Preston, Land O'Lakes, Florida; four great-grandchildren, Preston Michael Walter, Kenneth Grant Walter, Emmaline Grace Turner and Caroline Joy Turner. After losing both parents as a teenager, Mr. Preston decided upon a career in the United States Navy. He has always been fiercely proud of his country and served honorably for almost 28 years before retiring as a Commander. He earned his wings in 1944, the day before marrying his childhood bride in Pensacola, Florida. He served as a pilot at the end of WWII and the Korean War, and their travels took them to California, Hawaii, Washington D.C., Rhode Island, Okinawa, Tennessee and Orlando, Florida. After retirement from the Navy, Mr. Preston became the Director of Financial Services at Winter Park Memorial Hospital, Winter Park, Florida and retired from there in the late eighties. While he was most proud of his service to his country, his family remembers him as a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who devoted his life to loving, serving and protecting his family. He was devoted to the United Methodist Church, having joined Buford First UMC when he and Norma moved to Georgia to be with family in 2009. His interests included golf, bridge, bowling, reading, sports, and, politics, and he remained physically active well into his early nineties. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Buford 1st UMC, Buford, GA, on Friday, June 2 at 11:00 a.m. with Military Honors, and with a reception immediately following in the fellowship hall of the new Christian Life Center. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Buford First United Methodist Church, Building Fund, P.O. Box 329, Buford, GA 30515-0329 in memory of Bob Preston.