JOHN L. PICKLES
May 11, 1942-Feb. 28, 2010
MOUNT OLIVE -- John Lee Pickles, 67, passed away Sunday at Wayne Memorial Hospital following a courageous battle with cancer.
A celebration of life service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Golds-boro, with the Rev. William "Bill" Ordelt officiating. Inurnment will be in Good Shepherd Columbarium.
John was born May 11, 1942, in Lamont, Fla., to Lucille Gilliard Pickles of Greenville, Fla., and the late Alex Pickles Sr.
He was retired from the United States Air Force after 20 years of service, where he reached the rank of master sergeant. John was also retired from Georgia Pacific after 25 years of service.
He was an active member of the Wayne County Master Gardener Volunteers Association. He was the Wayne County coordinator for the North Carolina Blue Bird Society and was a member of the North American Blue Bird Society. John maintained an 11-house blue bird trail at Georgia Pacific.
He was a member of the Republican National Committee, the Neuse Regional BeeKeepers Associ-ation and the North Carolina State BeeKeepers Association.
The love of John's life was his family, gardening, beekeeping and blue birds. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
In addition to his mother, John is survived by his wife of 31 years, Virginia Turner Pickles; his daughter, Karen Pickles Perry and husband, William Percival Perry, of Greenville; his sons, Robert Hunter and wife, Carol, of Raleigh, John Hunter of Mount Olive and Jeremy Hunter and wife, Wendy, of Goldsboro; his siblings, Martha "Ann" Taylor of Tallahassee, Fla., Roy Charles Pickles (Ann) of Wake Forest, Wanda Joy Roberts (Stanley) of Lexington, S.C., Anderson Eugene Pickles (Debra) of Monticello, Fla., Alex Pickles Jr. (Mary) of Buckhead, Ga., William LeGrand Pickles (Susan) of Pinetta, Fla.; Phillip Wayne Pickles (Linda Faye) of Greenville, Fla., Edna Lucille Hamrick (Carl) of Greenville, Fla., Deborah June Cox (Harold) of Alvin, Texas, and Terrence "Terry" David Pickles (Vickie) of Plant City, Fla.; his grandchildren, who were the lights of his life, Robert and Aaron Hunter of Raleigh, Keelin and Kolton Hunter of Goldsboro and John Hunter Jr. of Clayton, Mich.; and numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 532 Country Day Road, Goldsboro, N.C.; the American Cancer Society, 930-B Wellness Drive, Greenville, N.C., 27834; or the North Carolina Blue Bird Society, 135 Lakeview Drive, Tarboro, N.C., 27886.
The family will receive friends at the home.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on March 2, 2010 1:47 PM