Colonel John Donald Vickery

John Donald Vickery, a proud veteran of the United States Air Force, passed away peacefully on August 19th, 2022 from complications of the heart. He has joined his beloved wife in heaven, Patricia Ann Vickery, after 66 years of marriage.

John, from Boulder, Colorado and Pat from Kansas City, Missouri had three children, Michael Kent (wife Kathleen) Vickery, Diane Vickery Tatterfield (the late Paul) Squires, and Ronald Bruce (wife Tracey) Vickery. John received his Master’s Degree in Business with an emphasis in computer information systems. John and Pat lived in numerous countries, states, cities and homes.

John was an avid mountain climber along side his twin brother, Jim. He climbed 38 of the 52 peaks in Colorado and over 14,000 feet in elevation.

John was commissioned as a Regular Air Force Officer and served from November 16, 1955 to December 1, 1976. John’s tremendous career culminated in reaching the rank of Colonel while being an aircraft commander and pilot. He flew B-52s, KC-135s, C-7s and Caribous. John logged over 9,000 hours of flying time, 800 of which were in combat in Vietnam. After retirement, John and Pat lived primarily in Arizona. John’s awards include, but not limited to: Joint Services Commendation Medal, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Award (used for shooting armadillos in their backyard in Lafayette, LA), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Air Force Presidential Unit Citation Award, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and Air Force Organizational Excellence Award. John’s career culminated as the Commander and Professor of Aerospace at the Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette Louisiana. The Air Force taught him the value of discipline, teamwork, and investing in a cause larger than himself.

Colonel John Vickery is survived by his grandchildren: Kristen Blanford (Jon), Matthew Vickery, Alyse Vickery, Sasha (Otis) Barr, Cambra (Trey) Lungren, Kayela (Chris) Fowler, Madison and Harper Vickery, Thomas (Heather) and John Tatterfield, Kelly Brace and twenty five great grandchildren.

A service honoring Colonel John D Vickery will be held on September 15, 2022, 11 a.m. at East Lawn Palms Cemetery, 5801 East Grant Road, Tucson, Arizona. Colonel Vickery will be laid to rest with Military Honors.