MUSSEY (Ret), MSGT. JOHN RICHARD

Saying "goodbye" is never easy. It was especially hard when it meant giving up someone so kind, gentle, and loving as our father and husband, MSgt. John Richard Mussey (Ret.) (K5RNM/N5FJ).  John, 79, of Shreveport, LA went home to God, peacefully, on Friday, August 21, 2020, at 11:13 am after a kidney complication. He was surrounded by his family and the prayers of his Priest, Fr. Thomas. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, October 10, 2020, at 1:00 pm at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church (4736 Lyba St. 71109) with Fr. John Paul Crispin and Deacon Clary S. Nash presiding. According to his wishes, he was cremated. At a later time, the cremains will be interred at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery.

John was born June 6, 1941 in Mineral Wells, TX to Richard Gayle Mussey of Sanderson, TX & Mary Marjorie Durham Mussey of Mineral Wells, TX. Being the first grandchild, he was the delight of his maternal Grandparents Mary Elizabeth "Mun" Johnson Durham of Cleburne, TX & Burns Vernon "Bernie" Durham of Mineral Wells, TX and paternal Grandparents Stella Inez Parker Mussey of Sonora, TX & Rueben Benjamin Mussey of Oak Island, TX. Parents and Grandparents are now deceased. He has a remaining uncle, Joseph Mussey and his wife Joyce Croft Mussey, of Alpine, TX.  As time continued on, the family welcomed a brother and sister for John, Rueben Burns Mussey (deceased) and half-sister Elann Hitt Kincaid Davis (deceased). In later years, there were many nieces and nephews to enjoy and to watch grow: Kimberley Ann Kincaid Pierce, William (Bill) Kincaid II, Terry Lee Harrington, Cheryl Ruth Mussey Ojiaku, Richard Joseph Mussey, and Donna Gail Mussey Goodgion. There are also twelve great-nieces and nephews.

Family was important to John and he was ready to get on with a family of his own. One of his greatest loves was roller skating. On the night of March 1, 1969, as he was gliding and twirling around the skating rink floor at Red Chute, he caught the eye of another skater that had been watching all his capers. By the end of that night, he had arranged to go for coffee with his soon to be wife, Agnes Ann Schroeder of Many, LA. On April 5, 1969, they became a family that lasted for 51 years. Three years later they welcomed "a Daddy's girl" into the family, Joanna Gayle Mussey of Shreveport, LA who later went on to marry Vincent (Vinny) Peter Pancaldo of The Bronx, New York. John still had his heart set on a boy. Along came Jonathan Christopher Mussey of Shreveport, LA who later found the love of his life Tifani Wilkins Mussey of Santa Maria, CA. She joyfully shared her sons Trevor Brinkman and Caleb Brinkman with the family. John finally had two step-grandsons.

Family was the most important thing in John's life, with the Military running a close second. He loved being in both active duty Air Force for eight years and in the Air Force Reserves for twenty years. As a young airman, John was trained in the Communication and Navigation fields. During the time of June 1967 thru April 1970 he served as part of the communications crew on the Airborne Command Post Looking Glass (SAC), taking him to U-Tapao, Taiwan, and back to Barksdale AFB. John was in the PACCS Program (Post Attack Command and Control System) and performed maintenance on the Communication systems that were installed on EC-135C, B-58, and KC-135. He was considered a "valuable member of the PACCS Shop" and to his credit he had 123 combat missions. After his honorable discharge from active duty, he missed being in the Air Force. In 1981 he had the opportunity to go into the Air Force Reserves as an ART and jumped at the chance. He was back home again!! Assigned to the 917 TFW at BAFB (home of the A-10 Warthog), he was known as "Rocket" and remained there until his retirement in 2001. Upon his retirement, he was presented with The Meritorious Service Medal by Brig. Gen. Jack C. Ihle. Through the years, his military career nurtured his hobby and love of amateur radio.

Long before John enlisted in the military he had a love for electronics. Through the Distributive Education Program at Mineral Wells High School, he got a part time job in his neighborhood TV repair shop. He became well acquainted with tubes, schematics and various electronic components. This led to his love of amateur radio. He built and repaired amateur gear all his adult life. Around the age of 15, he studied and passed his Novice test and was able to copy and send the required 5 wpm Morse code. In later years, he was awarded an Amateur EXTRA license (1977). That license entitled him to apply to become a Volunteer Examiner (1984 #1017) for W5YI and ARRL as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.  John was one of the first Examiners in the Shreveport area. He received the Elmer Award for encouraging many Hams to study and to obtain their license. Some of his other achievements are: Member of ARRL for 40+ years; Life Member of 10-10 International Net #8285; 55+ years member QCWA; Long time Member of the Central Gulf Coast Hurricane Net; Awarded 7 ^th place in the World for 2003 Summer Phone QSO Contest; and other Awards and Certificates too numerous to mention. He was a founding member of ARCOS (Amateur Radio Club of Shreveport). Along with ARCOS, he was a member of SARA (Shreveport Amateur Radio Association) and MARA (Minden Amateur Radio Association). John loved Field Days and Ham Fests and counted the days until it was time for another one. All the clubs participate in Ham Events and provide help in Emergency situations and in Civic projects when needed.

If you know a Ham, you know it involves a lot of "talking," but also many hours of volunteering, as well as providing communications during times of need. A much loved interest was Skywarn , where John was able to help the National Weather Service and did so for 30+ years. After his retirement, he became involved with the Bossier Marshal's Office where he took much pride in his achievement as a Bossier Deputy Marshall in Emergency Communications. Along with Emergency Communications, he was trained in various aspects of Security and Emergency Preparedness. He was also a trained Volunteer with the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. Volunteering and helping was just John's nature.

All of John's life he practiced Jesus' Greatest Commandment: "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and love thy neighbor as thyself." Even though it was not always done in a formal church setting...he lived it! In 2013 he decided to make it all official and was baptized into the Catholic faith where he joined his wife, daughter, and son. This was one of his greatest joys. One could tell it by the cross he wore around his neck every waking hour. He had again become a member of a family...a church family. He was thrilled and attended as long as he was able.

John was a loving husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend. He constantly heard, "Can you give me a hand with this? Do you have time to help me? Do you think you can fix this? John, my radio is giving me trouble...can you look at it? Can you climb my tower and fix the rotor? Honey, I've been thinking….(to his dismay, another project)...Oh, no! Daddy, can you fix this for me?" Jonathan would tell anyone that would listen, "My Daddy can fix anything."  Before she learned to drive, Joanna considered him her personal taxi service. He lovingly transported her and her friends everywhere.

The years have been good to John even with some really hard times in between. That's what made the other times so sweet. He will be missed beyond words! We are all so thankful that he lived!!

A special thank you to caregiver, Billy Samuels, for the compassion, kindness and love shown to John for more than two years. Other special caregivers include: Marnie, Sandy, Tina, Gloria and Shakeithia.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in John's name to St. Vincent dePaul Society of Sacred Heart Church (SVDS), (4736 Lyba St. Shreveport, LA 71109), or to the charity of the donor's choice.

Due to Covid-19, the Diocese requires that masks be worn and social distancing be observed in the church.

Funeral Services may be watched live on Face Book at 1:00 pm at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.