John Powell Hanbury

John Powell Hanbury obituary

John Powell Hanbury

John Hanbury Obituary

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Abbey Funeral Home and Tallahassee Memory Gardens - Tallahassee on Mar. 4, 2026.
John 'Jack' Powell Hanbury was born on April 15, 1941, in Portsmouth, VA to Joseph and Mary Delilah Powell Hanbury. There he graduated from Craddock High School in 1959 and married his high school sweetheart, Katherine Anne Wagner in 1961. After graduation, Jack joined the US Coast Guard receiving an honorable discharge in 1964. While attending William and Mary College, he was offered a training position with National Cash Register (NCR) in Norfolk, VA. His 33-year career with NCR in data technology took him and his family to Nashville and Chattanooga, TN, to Augusta and Savannah, GA and finally to Tallahassee, FL.

Over the years, Jack has had many hobbies. His absolute love of fast cars, restoring cars, collecting cars, judging and appraising cars defined a large part of him. For decades Jack founded, organized, participated, and held leadership roles with multiple car clubs in every city he lived. Clubs included the Tallahassee Street Rodders, Goodguys Custom Cars, Buick Street Rod, Fords of Florida, Georgia Old Car, Early Dodge, and the Tallahassee Region of American Antique Car Association (AACA). He was especially proud for reaching the goal of AACA Senior Master Judge. The central theme of antique cars was everyday life for our family. We knew where to find him on the weekends - in the garage.

His love for cars wasn't his only passion and talent. He mastered antique furniture restoration, restoring life to countless eras of wood. A craft he has passed on to some of his family. Since 1986 he was an active amateur radio operator (Ham). It was a love and skill he got from his Uncle Walt. As a licensed operator he was also a contact during Red Cross emergency disasters.

Jack had a full life, not only as a loving family man, but also serving his community. He spent much of his adult life highly involved in helping others. He was Past Master from Havana Lodge 167 as well as serving with Scottish Rite. Within the Shriners organization he participated in a variety of units over the years - Drum and Bugle, Clown, Classic Car, and Hillbilly units. He served as Chaplin and Treasurer of the Havana and Quincy Chapters of Eastern Star. His involvement with the Lions Club, Moose Lodge, Odd Fellows Lodge, and American Legion Post gave him a lot of satisfaction over his lifetime.

Jack is survived by his wife of 65 years, Kathy, his children: Vickie Walkowitz (Scott) of Augusta, GA, Darlene Paulen (Kevin) of Alpharetta, GA, LeAndra Higginbotham (Mark) and John S. Hanbury (April) of Tallahassee, 8 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. In addition, Jack is survived by beloved cousins, nieces and nephews. It is comforting knowing his legacy lives through

all those he has touched with his love and time shared.

As an active member of Salem United Methodist Church in Havana, FL, the family asks, in lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to their church (https://salemgmc.org/give).

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Sign John Hanbury's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

March 17, 2026

Karen Wells posted to the memorial.

March 6, 2026

Randall W. Ler posted to the memorial.

March 5, 2026

Bob Brunn posted to the memorial.

4 Entries

Karen Wells

March 17, 2026

My sister and I met Jack through an antique furniture shop in Havana in the late 2000s. He did such a wonderful job restoring our paternal grandparents´ 1890s oak wedding bed and various other antique pieces. He was kind, thoughtful, and a true perfectionist-a truly wonderful human being.

K. Wells
Havana

Randall W. Ler

March 6, 2026

My wife and I knew Jack only a short time of about 2 to 3 years as we attended Salem Methodist church in Havana. He welcomed us with open arms and always stopped by where we were sitting to discuss current issues and just to see how we were doing.
What a wonderful and pleasant guy that will be missed by us.
Our condolences to his family.

God speed, Jack.
Randall W. and Agnes Lee

Bob Brunn

March 5, 2026

My condolences to the Hanbury family. I was one of the neighborhood kids in Savannah who was at the Hanbury home as much as my own. It was a fun, welcoming place. A couple of my favorite memories of Mr. Hanbury were the times he took some of us neighborhood kids to classic car picnics in his restored 46 Ford convertible. What an experience! He was also great fun with a great sense of humor. There was one Halloween when he dressed up like a scarecrow and stood in the middle of the yard, occasionally moving, which made trick or treating there extra fun. God bless John and the family at this time.

Craig Brown

March 4, 2026

Jack was crucial to the TRAACA car club and an inspiration to all of us. The picture is Jack hamming it up at a club gathering at the Quincy Gulf Station in period correct costume! There are many graduates of the Lively Technical College Automotive Technology program who benefited from his efforts with the club's scholarships.

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Abbey Funeral Home and Tallahassee Memory Gardens - Tallahassee

4037 North Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32303

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Sign John Hanbury's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

March 17, 2026

Karen Wells posted to the memorial.

March 6, 2026

Randall W. Ler posted to the memorial.

March 5, 2026

Bob Brunn posted to the memorial.