John T. Stewart Jr. passed away on June 20, 2012. He was born in Shamrock, Texas on May 29, 1936 to John Tom Stewart and Annie Beatrice Hooks. He moved back to his mother’s home town of Donna, Texas when he was a baby. The town of Donna was founded by his Great Grandfather and a consortium of investors and was named for John’s great Aunt, Donna Hooks Fletcher. His parents divorced when John was a young boy, but he spent summer vacations with the Stewart family and his Grandparents at Paris, Texas. When he was fourteen he went to live with his step-father’s family in Washington, Kansas where he attended school and worked on the family farm for two years. He returned to Donna his junior year and graduated at the top of his class in 1954.
In May of 1954 he married his childhood sweetheart Joella Mary Grosser and in August of that year he joined the United State Air Force. After basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, TX, he was stationed at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS for a year of training in Airborne Electronic Countermeasures Equipment Repair. His first duty station was at Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, SD where he worked on the RB-36 and B-52 Airborne ECM equipment. In 1959 he was stationed at the Boise Bomb Plot, continuing to work on ECM Equipment repair. In 1960 he was sent back to Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS for a year of training in Advanced ECM Equipment Repair (Super Seven Level School). He was then sent to Forbes AFB Topeka, KS to work on the RB-47 Blue Cradle project. It was here he applied and was accepted to Officers Candidate School. He returned to Lackland AFB for OCS and graduated from that program as a Gold Bar with a Reserve Commission in 1962. His chosen field was as Navigator and he was sent to James Connally AFB, Waco, TX for Navigator training. After receiving his wings in 1963 he was sent to Dyess AFB, Abilene, TX as a Navigator on C-130E. After a few months his crew was sent to Eglin AFB, Ft. Walton Beach, FL to a special test wing formed to test and to write the specifications for material and personnel delivery systems for the new C-130E. After 18 months they were returned to Dyess AFB in Abilene, TX. In 1965 John took his family to their next assignment at NAHA AFB at Okinawa where he flew combat missions into Vietnam for four years. In 1968 he spent six months flying nighttime Forward Air Control-Flare missions out of UBON Thailand. In August of 1968 John was given the honor of Regular Commission in the US Air Force.
In 1969 John was sent to Keesler AFB Biloxi, MS to attend a year of training as a Computer Maintenance Officer. Then he was placed at Beale AFB, Marysville, CA as Chief of Material of the 9th Reconnaissance Technical Squadron. That squadron directly supported the SR-71. In 1972 he was returned to the cockpit and sent to Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ to another C-130A Navigator position. In 1974 his crew was sent to Utapao Air Base, Thailand for three months flying drone missions over Vietnam. Upon return from that mission he was made Commander of the 803rd Headquarters Squadron at Davis Monthan AFB, AZ. John retired as Major in 1975 after logging in over 5000 flying hours in the C-130 aircraft of which over 1,400 were combat flying hours with 366 missions and 510 credited days in Vietnam. During one of those missions John was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. His other medals are as follows: Air Medal with 7 Oak Leaf Clusters Nov. 6, 1969, 7th Air Force; Air Force Commendation Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters Nov. 6, 1969; National Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star; Good Conduct Medal with 2 Bronze Stars; Small Arms Expert Marksman's ribbon with 1 Bronze service star; Republic of Vietnam Commendation medal; Vietnam Service Medal with 8 Bronze stars; Presidential Unit Citation and Distinguished Unit Citation with 1 Oak leaf cluster; Combat Readiness Medal with 1 Oak leaf cluster; Air Force Outstanding Unit award with 6 oak leaf Clusters; Air Force Longevity Service Award with 4 Oak leaf Clusters, 1974.
After retirement John and his wife divorced and in 1980 he married Nellouise Stevenson in Tucson, Arizona. They moved back to Texas and lived in Denison, Texas. Over the years they traveled with their RV before settling in Montrose, Colorado where they built a home on fifteen acres. Due to ill health they later moved back to Texas and lived in the Temple area while still pursuing their love of traveling in their RV. John loved to fish, hike, hunt, prospect for gold, metal detecting, gardening, welding, silver smithing, and Ham radio in which he held an Extra Class license. He loved his computers and occasionally built his own computer as well. His life was full of adventure and change. In later years he and his wife took up Genealogy and John discovered he was a sixth generation Texan as well as being a direct descendant of Daniel Boone and several Jamestown inhabitants. John loved life and was a True Texan at heart.
He is survived by his wife, Nellouise of Sun City, Georgetown; his children, Penny Lynne Hoffman and her husband Craig of Flagstaff, AZ, John Tom Stewart III and his wife Lenica of Springtown, TX and Debra A. White of Hattisburg, MS; sister, Betty Joe Courtney of Midland, TX; brother, Donald Glenn Huffman and his wife Nancy of Colleyville, TX; seven Grandchildren and eight Great-grandchildren.
Interment services with Full Military Honors will be held at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen at 1:00 P.M. on Monday, June 25, 2012.
Arrangements by Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home, 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, Texas 78628 (512)863-2564.
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