John S. Raper
Posted: February 28, 2009
Lt. Colonel John S. Raper, 91, of Indian River Colony Club, Viera, FL, passed away Monday, December 29, 2008. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sue; and his two sons, Kent of Port St. Lucie, FL and Don (Debra and Kendall) of Dallas, TX. Born October 2, 1917, in Wytheville, VA, John was preceded in death by his parents, Hal Crockett Raper and Julia Stuart Sayers Raper and his siblings Margaret Raper, Sam Raper, Pat Raper and Lucy Raper Marshall. During World War II John flew 50 combat missions over the Mediterranean Sea, Germany and the Balkans. He later served as Transportation Officer in Texas, Saudi Arabia, Alaska, Ohio, the Philippines and finally at Patrick AFB. John retired from the Air Force in 1965. He resided with the family in Satellite Beach for 26 years and subsequently moved to IRCC in August 1989. He was an avid golfer until a month ago. Services were conducted at Suntree United Methodist Church on Monday, January 5th, at 2 p.m.