Jesse S. Hocker

1932 - 2003

Brig. Gen. Jesse S. Hocker, USAF (retired), passed away Monday, Nov. 24, 2003, after a brief battle with cancer.

Memorial service: 11 a.m. Wednesday at Irving North Christian Church, with funeral and burial to be held at a later date in Stanford, Ky.

Memorials: The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Mass.; Irving North Christian Church; or the American Cancer Society.

Gen. Hocker was born May 26, 1932, in Stanford, Ky. He attended school in Stanford and graduated from Stanford High School in 1950. He was a graduate of the University of Kentucky, class of 1954, with a BS in business administration. He was a member of Kappa Alpha. Upon graduation, he was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Air Force through ROTC. He also had a master's degree in business administration from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. His military service schools include Squadron Officer School, Industrial College of the Armed Forces and Air Command and Staff College. He entered the U.S. Air Force in December 1954 and completed pilot training in February 1956. During his 30-year career in the Air Force, he flew 25 different bomber, fighter, reconnaissance, tanker, cargo and trainer aircraft. A command pilot with over 8,000 flying hours, he was an instructor pilot in the B-47 and B-52 bombers, and the F-4 fighter. He flew the U-2, the TR-1 reconnaissance aircraft, and he was one of a small number of pilots in the world to fly the SR-71 Blackbird, which is the world's fastest aircraft, cruising at three times the speed of sound. Gen. Hocker served tours in Vietnam, both as a fighter pilot, flying the F-4C fighter, and a bomber pilot in the B-52. He flew a total of 227 combat missions. His military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal with Two Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Air Medal with 12 Oak Leaf Clusters. After retirement from the Air Force in 1984, Gen. Hocker was employed until 1988 in Dallas by Intertek Service Corporation, one of the largest third-party inspection firms in the United States. From 1988 to 1997 he was the owner and president of PetroChem International Corporation, which specialized in refinery and pipeline inspection on a worldwide basis. He sold that business in 1997. Gen. Hocker was a member of Irving North Christian Church, where he served as a deacon and elder.

Survivors: His wife of 48 years, Georgia Lee "Weedie" Hocker; sons, Jesse S. Hocker III of Grapevine and George B. Hocker and wife, Kathy, of Lexington, Ky.; grandsons, Bo Hocker of Lexington and Jesse and Will Hocker of Grapevine; and brother-in-law, Bill Cox and wife, Frances, of Lexington.