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Burton Ailes Fleming, 89, psychiatrist

Burton Ailes Fleming, 89, of Chestnut Hill, a Philadelphia-area psychiatrist, died Monday, May 11, following surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Burton Ailes Fleming
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Burton Ailes Fleming, 89, of Chestnut Hill, a Philadelphia-area psychiatrist, died Monday, May 11, following surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Born in Reading, he graduated from Mercersburg Academy and the University of Virginia.

Dr. Fleming earned a degree from Temple University School of Medicine and became board certified in psychiatry and neurology. He was a graduate of the Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute.

He spent time in the Air Force Medical Corps before setting up a private practice in Chestnut Hill. Dr. Fleming was the first medical director of Northwestern Mental Health Service in Fort Washington.

He also was founder, president, and medical director of the Horsham Clinic, a facility for the treatment of psychological problems in Ambler.

He served as an officer and director of the National Association of Psychiatric Hospitals, and as president of the Philadelphia Psychiatric Society, and was a member of the Union League of Philadelphia.

An avid water skier, he married his star pupil, Lynn F. Otter, in 1953. The couple had six children.

For 25 years, the Flemings spent summers at their house in Edgartown, Mass., where Dr. Fleming founded the Great Pond Foundation, an environmental group.

He enjoyed snow skiing, ice hockey, ice dancing, and flying. He also loved sailing, fishing, and woodworking, becoming a prizewinning bird carver in his later years.

"He was a real rock," said daughter Karen. "He built a strong sense of family that we all have and carry forward to this day."

Besides his daughter and wife of 62 years, he is survived by daughters Cynthia, Tricia, and Christine; sons Randy and Carter; eight grandchildren; and two step-grandchildren.

A memorial gathering is to be at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 4, at the Fleming home in Philadelphia. Burial was private.

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