John Henry Axley II was born April 11, 1929, and died of acute leukemia Friday, April 3, 2015. John was born in Evansville, IN to John Henry Axley and Leila Grey Axley. He was raised in Murphy, NC. His older sister, Marion Axley Vuchetich passed away less than a month ago. John is survived by his wife of 34 years, Marian Heath Axley. John's first wife of 28 years, Gladys Elaine Wimberly Axley, preceded him in death. He is survived by his children: Lauren Axley Roberts, Pamela Axley Hightower, William (Bill) Grey Axley and John Henry (Hal) Axley III; as well as his step-children Heather Heath Anderson and Holly Heath Starling. John is also survived by seven grandchildren: Courtney Roberts McNealy, Torrey Roberts, Holin Axley, Kendall Axley, John Henry (Jake) Axley IV, Jon Christian (JC) Peterson III and Hannah Margaret Peterson as well as one great grandchild born last month, Theodore (Thor) McNealy

John Axley graduated from The Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD with a Bachelors in Science Degree in Engineering. At that time the Air Force Academy was not established and John was recruited by the United States Air Force to be trained as a pilot. John subsequently attended The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and achieved a Master's of Science degree in electrical engineering. His thesis was on the topic of "Navigation Of A Manned Supply Vehicle Back To Earth". A variation of his system is still in use today and was only recently declassified by the United States government. While in the Air Force John served his country with pride, serving multiple tours in Vietnam and completing over 140 missions in his F105 fighter bomber aircraft as a part of Operation Rolling Thunder. Upon returning from his last tour in Vietnam, he was assigned to work in the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and subsequently transferred to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH where he was a member of the A-10 development team. He retired from the Air Force as a full colonel in 1977 and was employed by Pratt and Whitney, a division of United Technologies, as a program manager. He retired from United Technologies in 1993 and enjoyed his leisure time playing golf as he had for over thirty-five years. Other hobbies he enjoyed were snow skiing, flying, woodworking, clock-making, and reading. He was a parishioner of the Episcopal church since his days at Annapolis and a member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, where he often served as an usher. John's greatest enjoyment was his family and he strived to be as close to them as possible. Memorial Services will be held on Wednesday, April 8, at 5:00pm, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church , at 3395 Burns Road, Palm Beach Gardens, FL with a graveside service in College Park, GA. In lieu of flowers, the family request contributions be made in his name to the American Cancer Society at Donate.cancer.org. For more information contact Aycock-Riverside Funeral Home in Jupiter, FL.