GREGORY N. O'DONOGHUE SR.
Nov. 22, 1935-Dec. 31, 2010
Gregory Noel O'Donoghue Sr., 75, of the Sleepy Creek community, passed away on Friday, Dec. 31, 2010, at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh. All reports indicate that he was dreaming of catching a large bass in the creek.
A memorial service will be held at the Chapel on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011, and will include military honors. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at the chapel, and at other times at the residence.
Gregory was born in Richmond, Va., to the late Dennis Francis and Margaret Yvonne O'Donoghue, but grew up in Orlando, Fla. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife of 54 years and author, Patti O'Donoghue, of the home; his children, Brian O'Donoghue of Reston, Va., Sharon Greene and husband, Don, of Knob Noster, Mo.; Timothy O'Donoghue of Enon, Ohio, and Kathleen Lunsford and husband, Martin, of Clayton. His eldest son, Gregory O'Donoghue Jr. and his brother, Mickey O'Donoghue, preceded Gregory in death.
He was an Air Force retired chief master sergeant, retiring from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in June 1987, following 33 years of active service. His career included overseas tours in Greenland in Narsarssuak Reach; at TUSLOG Detachment 30, Ankara, Turkey; Ramstein Air Base in Germany; and Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. His stateside assignments were at March Air Force Base in California; Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska; Kelly Air Force Base in Texas; Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois; Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and the local Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro.
Chief O'Donoghue served as the senior enlisted advisor to Major General Stanley Beck, Commander, 3rd Air Division (SAC) while assigned to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. His last active duty assignment was to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Following retirement from the Air Force, he became a distributor for Success Motivation Institute (SMI) of Waco, Texas. He was selected and served on the U.S. Air Force Retiree Council representing retirees from this geographical area. He was the personal financial management program manager for the 4th Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson until he separated in July 2006.
Gregory was an active member of the Goldsboro Toastmasters, was a member of the Air Force Sergeants Association, and he served for five years on the Salvation Army's board of directors in Goldsboro. He was a dedicated and longtime volunteer for the Community Soup Kitchen of Goldsboro, Inc., having served as chairman on the kitchen board of directors. He served as a lector for St. Michael's Catholic Parish on Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and was a volunteer at the Seymour Johnson Optometry Clinic.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Community Soup Kitchen of Goldsboro, Inc., P.O. Box 1064, Goldsboro, NC 27533, or to the O'Donoghue-Bindel Scholarship Fund, Mount Olive College, 634 Henderson St., Mount Olive, NC 28365.
Tyndall Funeral Home in Mount Olive has charge of the services.
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Published in Obituaries on January 2, 2011 9:25 AM