Capt. Drexel E. Poynter, 85, of Pensacola, Fla., a former commanding officer of the Naval Air Station in Glenview, died Sunday, June 18, in Evanston Hospital after an operation for a brain tumor. During World War II, he was an instructor for British and American pilots, and after the war he flew hundreds of missions during the Berlin Airlift. Other assignments during his long career with the Navy included serving as commanding officer of the Hurricane Hunters based in Jacksonville, Fla., a unit that flew into hurricanes and clocked the wind speed. He was commanding officer of the naval air station from 1968 to 1970. After retiring to Pensacola in 1972, Capt. Poynter was executive director of the Fiesta of Five Flags in Pensacola for 13 years, a job that allowed him to use his organizational skills to manage the annual citywide festival, said Hazel Thatcher Poynter, his wife of 17 years. “He wanted something to do, and he couldn’t play golf every day,” she said. Other survivors include a daughter, Deborah Gustin; two stepsons, Roland and William Thatcher; a stepdaughter, Virginia Thatcher; two brothers, Robert and Herbert; and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Gladys Daugneaux Poynter. A memorial service will be held Tuesday at the Naval Air Station Memorial Chapel in Pensacola.
