WILLIAM P. REBOLI JR.
Died March 29, 2010
William Phillip Reboli Jr., 76, passed away Monday at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
A memorial Mass will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at St. Michael the Archangel at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Military honors will follow the Mass on the lawn of the chapel.
Bill attended New York State Maritime College, majoring in marine engineering, prior to joining the Air Force in 1955 as an enlisted man. He then entered aviation cadet training and graduated with a commission and a navigator rating.
He attended Squadron Officer's School in Alabama.
He has served in many countries. Besides the United States, he served in Morocco, Germany, Labrador, Holland, England, Thailand and Vietnam.
Bill flew in B-25s, F94s, F-89s, EC 121s and F-4s.
He served two tours in Vietnam (1965 and 1971-72.) He flew more than 500 hours of combat time.
In 1972, he became a member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (River Rats).
Bill arrived at Seymour Johnson AFB in August 1973 and thereafter was assigned as director of training for the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing.
He retired from the Air Force in January 1975 at the rank of major after 20 years of active duty. During his years of service in the Air Force, he received the following medals: Distinguished Flying Cross along with the Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal and various other medals and decorations.
After his retirement, Bill worked in real estate for three years. He joined First Federal Savings & Loan (later East Coast Federal) in 1978 as a vice president in mortgage loans and as a mortgage compliance officer. Bill retired in 1988.
He was currently a member of the Air Force Association and the Military Officer's Association of America.
Bill was a member of the North Carolina Community Federal Credit Union for 36 years.
In 1996, he joined the supervisory committee as a volunteer and served in that capacity for several years. He later joined the board of directors, where he was chairman of the supervisory committee for several years. Bill served as chairman from 2003 to 2008.
He completed the Volunteer Achievement Program and was the recipient of the Basic Award, the Filene Award, the Raiffeisen Award and the Bergengren Award. Bill also received the Volunteer of the Year Award for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions in 2009.
Bill was involved in many civic organizations and in 1975, he joined the local Lions Club. He had held every office in the Goldsboro Host Lions Club and had served as the zone chairman. Bill was the recipient of the William L. Woolard Partnership in Service Award. He also received the Jack Stickley Fellow Award, the Melvin Jones Fellow Award (highest award in Lionism) and the Lion of the Year three times.
Bill also helped organize the Alliance of Retired Military with seven other members in 1998 and the current membership is 2500. He was the legislative representative and this alliance was a non-partisan group to regain their promised lifetime medical care if they served at least 20 years in the service.
Bill was an active member of the parish, St. Michael the Archangel, at Seymour Johnson AFB. He was an extraordinary minister of holy communion.
Bill was also a member of the Knights of Columbus.
He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Pat Reboli; four children and three grandchildren, Ginny and Gary Matsey of Raleigh, Patty, Ed and Allison Spears of Raleigh, Bill and Annie Reboli and Ashley and Steven Sutton of Goldsboro and Matthew, Dawn and Thomas Reboli of Palo Alto, Calif.; and his sister, Jean Foster of Wilmington.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Joseph Reboli.
The family will greet friends Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Seymour Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Pennies From Angels, c/o Helen Harwood, 203 Cox Blvd., Goldsboro, N.C., 27534.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on March 31, 2010 1:47 PM