John W. Looney, Jr., 66, of Brighton, passed away Sunday, February 8, 2015. He was a retired Deputy Chief of the Memphis Fire Department, where he served for over 36 years. John’s career was unique in many ways. It is likely that he served in more positions than any other employee in the department’s history. He began as a firefighter on March 17, 1969. He was later promoted to Driver at the old fire station 17 on National Street. In 1979, John was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to Snorkel 13 at Station 7 on Jefferson. In 1988, under a new departmental promotional system, John scored highest of all candidates and was promoted to Captain. He was placed in charge of the department’s hazardous materials unit. A few years later, he was elevated to Air Crash Chief and oversaw a shift of specialized firefighters at Memphis International Airport. John was later promoted to Division Fire Chief. He was assigned various administrative duties, including the oversight of all airport operations. On September 11, 2001, John, serving as a leader with Tennessee Task Force One, responded to the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks. He also served as Chief of Training for the department. It was in this position that he worked with city officials on the design and construction of the Chester Anderson Fire Campus, which became a regional state-of-the-art fire service training facility. In 2004, the department needed new leadership after the retirement of Fire Director Chester Anderson. Mayor Herenton promoted Looney to Deputy Chief of Administration and tapped him to serve as interim fire director until a permanent replacement was named. John retired from the department on April 15, 2005. He was preceded in death by his parents, Captain John W. Looney, Sr. and Mary Lou Looney of Brighton, TN. He is survived by his wife, Donna Hannah Looney of Brighton and his six children: Troy Looney (Sonya) and Kristy Izzitt (Tim) of Olive Branch, MS; Kevin Looney of Atoka, TN, his step-children that he raised as his own, Matthew Williams (Allison) of Cabot, AR, Stephanie Murray (Mike) and Joe Williams (Beth) of Brighton. John also leaves 13 grandchildren: Brandon Looney, Zach Hodges, Ryan Hodges, Tyler Williams, Faith Williams, Taylor White, Seth Williams, Eliott Williams, Hope Looney, J. T. Looney, Savanna Deisher, Zach Deisher, and John’s Darling, Laney Murray. He also leaves one great-granddaughter, Pyper Williams. Additionally, he leaves two sisters, Jeanette Adams (Charles) and Vanice Taft of Atoka, TN, and one brother, David Looney (Vicki) of Brighton, TN. Visitation will be Wednesday, February 11 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Bartlett Funeral Home, 5803 Stage Road, with services Thursday, February 12 at 1 p.m. Burial will follow in the West Union Cemetery, 3099 West Union Road in Millington. Bartlett Funeral Home (Published in The Commercial Appeal on Feb. 11, 2015)