With sorrow, yet with abiding confidence in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we share with you the news that the Rev. Peter Wallace Fleming, Jr., priest of the Church for more than seventy years, entered into eternal rest on February 10, 2026, at the age of 95. A steadfast servant of Christ and His Church, Father Fleming spent his long life proclaiming the love of God in Jesus Christ and bearing witness to the promise of life beyond. We give thanks for his holy ministry, for the communities he strengthened, and for the generations formed by his leadership.
A Requiem Eucharist will be held on March 7, 2026, at 11 a.m. at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, St. Petersburg. The Rt. Rev. Douglas F. Scharf will be the celebrant and preacher. Interment will be at Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, 140 Fourth Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Father Fleming was married to Marion Courtney Lucas for 65 years, and together they have three sons, Peter, John, and Thomas.
He was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons at St. Paul’s, Augusta on June 24, 1954, the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. He also became the vicar of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Jesup, GA in September 1954, and was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests in that parish on March 25, 1955 (the Feast of the Annunciation) by the Rt. Rev. Albert Rhett Stuart.
Father Fleming served as rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Central Florida from September 1961 through May 1976. While at St. David’s, Father Fleming grew the congregation to over 1,200 members, and he led the planning and construction of the church’s new building. The octagon shape was inspired by the Church of Santa Costanza, a 4th-century church in Rome, Italy.
In the Diocese of Central Florida, Father Fleming served on numerous committees, including the Standing Committee, the Committee on the Revision of the New Prayer Book (which became the 1979 Book of Common Prayer), the Committee for the Division of the Diocese, and as Chairman of the Architectural Commission. He organized the first integrated Vacation Church School in Polk County. He was also active in the Lakeland community, serving as President of the Polk County Ministerial Association and as an Adjunct Professor in the Sociology Department at Florida Southern College, where he taught Marriage and the Family. He was on the Planning and Building Commission to construct the Lakeland Civic Center.
In 1976, Father Fleming became rector of St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Snell Isle, in St. Petersburg, FL, where he served for 18½ years in the Diocese of Southwest Florida. During this time, he was President of the Diocesan Standing Committee, Chairman of the Architectural Committee (which was responsible for planning and constructing the early phases of the Diocesan DaySpring Conference Center), Delegate to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and President of the St. Petersburg Clergy Association. He retired from the active ministry in January 1996 and pursued his interests in art, music, and tutoring underprivileged children. In an interview several years ago, he summarized his vocation as a priest and his devotion to the Episcopal Church with the following: “I just simply say what else is a priest for except to be a sign of Christ and Christ’s purpose and that means life beyond what we know now. I am an Episcopalian by choice, from age 17, and I will die one. I am privileged to belong to a church whose theology is fixed on the love of God in Jesus Christ and who promises forgiveness from the past and hope of life renewed. Nothing can take me away from my community of faith just as ‘nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God.’”
Father Fleming is survived by his wife, Judge Marion Lucas Fleming; his sons: Peter Wallace Fleming III of Atlanta, GA (Georgia), John Stewart Lucas Fleming of St. Petersburg (Tara), and Thomas Mills Fleming of Savannah, GA (Marianne); his grandchildren: Sarah Elizabeth Fleming Garrett (Brice), Alexander Mills Fleming, Eliza Cunningham Fleming, Peter Wallace Fleming IV, and Avary Lucas Fleming; his sister, Elizabeth Collins Sheehan of Aiken, SC; his sister-in-law, Margaret Lucas Holmes; his niece, Courtney Holmes Douglas (Charles); his brothers-in-law: Arthur Melville Lucas IV (Lindee) and Curry Carr Lucas (Becky); and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother George Lloyd Fleming of Nantucket, MA.