Joel Brand Laseter, 95, died May 16, 2013, at the family home, in Plant City.
Mr. Laseter was born on Dec. 5, 1917, in Birmingham, Ala. In 1941, he married his college sweetheart, Martha Moody, of Plant City. They were married 72 years.
While attending Georgia Tech, Mr. Laseter was a Naval ROTC Cadet and member of the Yellow Jackets football team. In 1939, Brand joined the U.S. Marines and became an aviation pioneer. He flew Corsairs and commanded a squadron of B-25s in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He recently told his family he had instructed Lt. Gen. James H. Doolittle in the skill of night fighting. He also served in China and the Pacific Theater G-2 Section, in Hawaii.
After the war, he assisted with the repatriation of prisoners of war to China, Japan, Russia and the United States. As a major, he continued to serve in China after the war and assisted with efforts to re-establish China’s presence in world banking. He became a manufacturer’s representative and later founded several businesses in the pipe and pipe-fitting extrusion industry.
Mr. Laseter was an elder and active member of First Presbyterian Church of Plant City. He served on many committees of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay. He made his homes in Plant City and in Highlands, N.C.
An avid international traveler, he visited move than 80 countries and all seven continents. At 85, he traveled to Antarctica and is thought to be the oldest person to have visited the United States Research Station at the geographic South Pole.
The following year, he boarded an ice-breaker and visited the North Pole. He celebrated his 90th birthday with his family in Myanmar — formerly Burma — so he could see the bases that sent planes “Over the Hump” to supply him while he served in China. He frequently visited the game camps in Botswana and other parts of Africa.
The Laseters’ children include Peggy Lee, of Plant City, Betsy and Marc Hehn, of Summerville, S.C., and Jean and John Hehn, of Plant City. Survivors also include nine grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and son-in-law Bud Lee.
A graveside celebration of life was May 18, at Memorial Park, Plant City.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warriors Project at woundedwarriorsproject.org.
Online condolences may be made at hopewellfuneral.com.