John Wallace Skinner age 87 passed away on January 16th 2019 at the Veterans Administration Alvin C York medical facility in Murfreesboro, TN surrounded by his devoted wife of 62 years Mary Jane Skinner.
Staff Sargent Skinner was born on April 4, 1931 in rural Williamson County Tennessee to Frances Marian and Willie Patra Skinner. At the age of 18 John moved to Detroit Michigan to work in the automotive industry. He then enlisted in the United States Air Force at the age of 20. In 1955 he met Mary Jane Young of Jennings, Louisiana while stationed at Terrain AFB in Texas. They were married on June 6, 1956. In 1957 John was stationed at Donaldson AFB in Greenville, SC when his eldest son John R was born in Jennings, LA
In 1958 while still stationed at Donaldson AFB, Jerome was born. After the birth of their second son, Staff Sargent Skinner was stationed in Japan and then returned home to Langley AFB Virginia. He later was stationed at Sewart AFB in Smyrna, TN where they bought the Skinner homestead in 1960. In 1962 they welcomed their youngest son Jamie. In 1964 John was deployed to Vietnam. While there he was stationed in Germany, England and then a final tour in Vietnam. After this final tour, Staff Sargent Skinner retired at McCord AFB in Washington State.
During all this time Mary Jane kept the home fires burning tending to the house and their three sons. They later returned home to LaVergne TN where he attended Nashville Auto Diesel College and took a job at Thompson Machinery where he worked 20 yrs. Not one to sit around he went to work at the VA in Nashville in food service and then retired again after almost 20 years.
In November 2007 John W suffered a stroke and then on January 6th 2008 he became a resident of the VA in Murfreesboro, TN.
Anyone that knew him also knew that he was a life long devoted fan of the Dallas Cowboys. One of his most well known sayings was "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". He loved his KOFY and before bed each night he took his BAF. He loved walking his property and when his son John R bought the adjacent property the both of them would enjoy walking all the property lines. He loved his sons, there is no doubt about that. He was proud of his eldest son Jerome's knowledge of all thing electrical and his youngest son Jamie's woodworking capabilities and most certainly his musical talents.
His memory will live on forever through his beloved wife Mary Jane, brother Fred, sons John R, Jerome Lamar, and James Alan. He is also survived by his grandchildren Sarah, his "Precious One" Tabitha, Jessica, Jonathan M, and Jefferey R along with his seven great-grandchildren.
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