Wade Pemberton

Wade Pemberton, passed on January 21, 2026 at the age of 78 in Orlando, FL. Wade was born in 1947 in Pensacola, FL to Ralph and Christine Pemberton.

He graduated from the University of Tennessee with an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering and earned a Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Rollins College.

He married Barbara Boles in 1970. He worked most of his career at Martin Marietta, now Lockheed Martin, where he rose to VP of Research and Development and contributed to missile guidance systems on the Tomahawk Cruise Missile, the Patriot Air Defense Missile, and the Stealth bomber. He retired early to go scuba diving in far flung places including Palau, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.

He loved to take underwater photos and captured some of the world's best photos of lionfish, sharks, turtles, octopuses, moray eels, starfish, coral, and more. Later in life, he switched his love of photography to taking photos of the cosmos with a 14-inch telescope and traveled to our National Parks including many trips to Yellowstone. An avid Guild Wars 2 player, he used to say, "work hard, do good, get lucky, and luck counts."

He is survived by his daughter Dana Lamas (his original scuba diving partner), her husband Ray Lamas, his grandchildren Alex (an aspiring engineer like his granddad) and David (another passionate diver), his ex-wife Barbara, his brother Paul, and sisters Lynn and Jane.

The family will have a graveside Saturday, February 21, 2026 at Union Hill Cemetery in Sunbright at 11:00 a.m.

Schubert Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Wade Pemberton.