John Aubrey Haynes

John was born on December 3, 1952, in Columbus, Mississippi. He was preceded in death by his parents, the late David Morton Haynes, Jr., and Betty Belue Haynes.

John attended Florida College and the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. In pursuit of his lifelong passion for flying, he took jobs at Tampa Air Center and with Jim Walter Homes Aviation Department before moving on to piloting seaplanes and working on oil rigs in Louisiana, flying cargo in South Carolina, and becoming charter manager for Memphis Aero. In 1978 he joined FedEx in Memphis as a dispatcher.

As a dispatcher he gained recognition and respect developing a logistics program that showcased his ingenuity and resourcefulness. Through his tenacity and determination he worked his way into the flight program, becoming a pilot in 1981 and achieving Captain status in the early nineties.

Along the way John devised ways to follow his many interests, including sneaking onto the ramp as a fireman at the Great Miami Air Races and hiking up a Nevada hill overlooking Area 51, surreptitiously snapping photos of a top secret airplane. His resulting brush with the FBI became the stuff of legend.

In 1987, John met Beth Hanna at his Memphis apartment’s tennis courts. They tied at love, and the rest is history. John and Beth were married in Santa Barbara, California, on April 23,1988, with his brother Jimmy officiating. They later welcomed two sons, John in 1990 and Hunter in 1991.

At FedEx, John was recognized for outstanding contributions to Aircraft Charter Operations, helping create Dangerous Goods operation manuals, and developing the Airport Information Resource (AIR) Database. For more than a decade, he served as Central Air Safety Committee Vice-Chairman for the International Airline Pilots Association (IFALPA), traveling as a representative to Salzburg, Lisbon, Hong Kong and Helsinki, among other places. In 2016, he finally traded the sky for the golf course, retiring after 35 years with FedEx.

His many adventures include fishing trips to Alaska, racing his sailboat in the gulf of Mexico and hunting with his dog Woody. This year he was especially proud to have finally harvested his first turkey. But the pride of his life was his boys. He will be remembered for his sense of humor, love of aviation and love for the Lord.

John has been called the toughest, gruffest, most kind-hearted man on earth, and he was always looking for ways to share his blessings with others. He was a member of Centerville Road Church of Christ, and truly lived out his faith, leaving behind a legacy of honesty, selflessness and grace.

John is survived by his wife of 35 years, Mary Beth Hanna Haynes, and sons John Aubrey Haynes, Jr. of Key Largo, Florida, and Hunter Davis Haynes of Charlotte, North Carolina; brothers David Morton Haynes, Jr., James Hampton Haynes, and sister Rebecca Haynes Mott; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in John’s honor to Moffitt Cancer Center (moffitt.org) or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).

A visitation for John will be held Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 11:00 AM at Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 700 Timberlane Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32312, followed by a memorial service at 12:00 PM.