Born: April 20th, 1921 on Martin Luther King Jr & 3rd St Old Needham Farm Ocala, FL

Died: May 9th, 2009 in the Life Care Center of Ocala in Ocala, FL

Lifelong hunter, fisherman, outdoorsman, coach, community leader, and public servant
Graduated: Ocala High School 1939
Played AAA Pro-Baseball with the Milwaukee Braves
Servedin the U.S. Navy Seabees 43rd Construction Battalion. South Pacific, Alaska, Nagasaki, Japan 1942-1945Married: Bessie Nelle Wade on July 12th, 1942
Sons: William P. "Pat" Needham-Donna-Stuart, FL (Pat deceased February 20th, 2022)
           Thomas M. "Mike" Needham- Julie- Ocala, FL
Grandchildren: W.P. "Bumpy" Needham-Kim-
                           Tiffany Needham
                           Sandra Addison- Jim Addison-
Greatgrandchildren: Garrett Herold
                                     Bianca Sophia Leon, Sophia Elaina Leon
Brother: Winston M. Needham-Karen-
Nieces: Noelle N. Smith- Will-
              Regan N. Wiles-Derick-
Grandnephews: Grant Wiles-Ashlyn-
                              Seth Wiles-Rylee-
                              Jacob W. Smith
Great grandnephew: Greyson Wiles

President- OHS Booster Club
President- Marion Wildlife Club
President- Florida Wildlife Federation
President-"Save Lake Ocklawaha"
Florida State Non-Pro-Baseball Commissioner 1957-62
Trustee-Florida Nature Conservancy
Life Member- Marion County Sheriff's Search and Rescue
Life Member- Silver Springs Radio Club
Marion County Board of County Commissioners 1978-1990 (3 terms)
Ocklawaha Water Basin Board
Board Member- American Red Cross
Marion-Dunn Lodge No 19 F& A.M.-Ocala-64-year member
Ocala Scottish Rite Bodies- 32nd degree- Ocala- over 50-year member
Morocco Shrine Temple-Jacksonville- over 50-year member
Ocala Shrine Club- Ocala- over 50-year member
V.F.W. Post 4209
1975 Exchange Club Book of Golden Deeds Award
Deacon, First Christian Church-Ocala- 71-year member

-Beginning at age 19, he organized baseball semi-pro games to raise money for the Red Cross
-Served two terms as president of the Marion Wildlife Club (oldest wildlife club in Florida at the time) in the mid 1940s.
-Served as co-founder and chief of sheriff's emergency search and rescue squad- all volunteers- for 25 years beginning in 1953
-Florida state non-pro baseball commissioner 1957-1962
-President of Ocala High School Booster Club
-Served as board member for the Southeast Youth and Livestock Show Association for many years
-Served as president for two terms of the Marion County Medical Services Advisory Council. (A mandatory federal requirement at the time to coordinate all medical emergency services.)
-Received the Exchange Club Golden Deeds Award for spearheading the 1st county-wide radio services for emergency services. Working with co-partner John O. Williams, worked to institute the 1st county radio and communications center to dispatch ambulance, fire, law enforcement services to county citizens in 1975.
-Trustee of the Florida Nature Conservancy
-Served for four years as Ocklawaha Basin Board Member for water control and management. Instituted the John Walk [ark at Moss Bluff Dam Site. Served as president and helped organize the "Save Lake Ocklawaha Association" in the mid 1970s.
-Served on the water advisory board to Governor Kirk, with Nathaniel Reed and Lyman Rogers
--Coached youth baseball and softball and was appointed Florida State Non-Pro-Baseball Commissioner in 1956-1962 and increased tournament play to 14 teams while moving tournament to Ocala, bringing lots of money to the local area.
-Managed the Ocala non-pro team to the state championship in 1963. Managed fast pitch softball teams for 15 years in local and state leagues.
-President of North Ocala Business Men's Association
-Served on the board of directors- Ocala Marion County Chamber of Commerce
-Elected 4th District Count Commissioner in 1978- Served 3 four-year terms. The last one unopposed-1978-1990, while commissioner, headed committees that acquired by land trade, three parks in outlying communities and helped an area group with a 4th recreation park.
-Worked as a special project to clear titles and acquire dedicated access to cemeteries, while commissioner worked as a liaison to legislative in Tallahassee and helped obtain 3.5 million dollars in community help, grants, youth fair, mental health, low-income area renovating housing, and roads as well as grants for the Marion County Museum.
-Served three-year term as a member of board of directors of Red Cross.
-Served as Governor Martinez at large appointee to the Cross Florida Barge Canal Greenway planning board in early 1990s.
-Chairman and organizer of six county commission coalition (Duval, Clay, Putnam, Marion, Citrus, Levy) of Canal Counties to implement the return of land control to the state, and de-authorization of the Barge Canal.
-Made several trips to Washington, D.C. and many around state, as well as Tallahassee, to work to make Florida jewel of a park in our area.
-Worked to get ad-valorem tax money paid to canal project returned to the counties, resulting in the return of over 3.2 million dollars to Marion County.
-Helped establish M.A.R.S. Ham Radio telephone patch stations so that service personnel can make five-minute calls free to home from their overseas stations, beginning in the 1970s for Vietnam service personnel, then in 1991 for Desert Storm, Bosnia, Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan.