John Warren Ridley died Saturday, October 18, 2008 in Tallahassee, Florida where he had moved earlier this year to be near his sister and family members. Mr. Ridley was born March 26, 1924 in Heard County, Georgia to Dr. Claude and Maybell Ridley. He attended Berry College after graduating from Heard County High School. This member of the “Greatest Generation” entered the United States Army Air Corps in 1943 as a member of Jimmy Doolittle's Eighth Air Force. He completed thirty-five missions over Germany as a ball turret gunner in a B-17 "Flying Fortress" and was awarded the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters. He graduated from the University of Georgia, where he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity and worked for the Georgia Department of Agriculture as an entomologist for 35 years. He had previously lived in Tifton, GA and had lived in Atlanta since 1964 before moving to Tallahassee, Florida in 2008. He attended Clairmont Hills Baptist Church in Atlanta and was a member of the American Camellia Society, the Georgia Entomology Society and the North Amanda Garden Club. After retirement from the State of Georgia, he was known for his gift of horticulture, sharing his roses, camellias and tomatoes with friends and neighbors. He is survived by his sister, Maye Walker and her husband John; niece, Claire Harrison and her husband Jim; nephew, Claude Walker and his wife Laurie; great nieces, Kate Harrison and Taylor Anne Cain; and great nephews, Seth Walker, Spencer Walker and James Harrison, all of Tallahassee. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, L.C. Ridley and his wife Gloria; and their two daughters, Nancy and June Ridley. A graveside service is planned for Thursday, October 23, at 11 a.m. at Westview Cemetery in Atlanta. Visitation for family and friends will be 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home, 2773 N. Decatur Road, Decatur, Georgia (404-292-1551). In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Florida Baptist Children's Home, 8415 Buck Lake Road, Tallahassee, FL 32317.
