Mr. Robert Jahue "RJ" Wall Jr.

Robert Jahue ("RJ") Wall, Jr., 89 years old, died Thursday, August 17, 2012 at Belle Maison Nursing Home in Hammond, La. His beloved wife, Mary Allen Swick Wall preceded him in death six years ago, on August 19, 2006. Surviving him are his son Robert Jahue Wall, III of Houston, TX; daughter Linda Carolyn Wall and her husband Mitch Schaub of Portland, OR; seven grandchildren (Lonny Gene Rushton and Joshua Dane Rushton of Portland, OR; and Robyn Jana Wall of Houston, TX; Courtney, Joshua, Corporal Daniel Hathaway and Jonathan Hathaway); eleven great-grandchildren (Elise Laurel Rushton, 5½; Chloe Virginia Rushton, 4; Vivian Jean Rushton, 1; Aiden, Brendon, Riley, Barbara, Hazel, Merlin, Blake and Aaron); stepson William Swick and his wife Dorothy of Magnolia, MS; and many beloved nieces and nephews. He was born Nov. 7, 1922 in Loranger, Louisiana, son of the late Robert Jahue Wall, Sr. and Pearl Daisy Bennet Wall. He was the 7th of 8 children. All of his brothers and sisters have preceded him in death. RJ lived a happy and adventurous life. He was the son of a farming family, a child during the Great Depression. He always loved animals and counted a squirrel, a goat, and innumerable dogs and cats among his many pets. He was a good student and a hard worker, milking dairy cows before and after his high school classes. He worked as a chauffeur and a drug store clerk in New Orleans before he enlisted in the Air Force in November, 1941, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in World War II as a combination top turret gunner & flight engineer and participated in the "first wave" of bomber attacks on German targets in Europe without long range fighter support. After the War, he continued his Air Force career as an aircraft mechanic, then mechanics' instructor, and, finally, principal of a school of mechanics instruction, achieving the rank of Chief Master Sergeant. He retired in 1967 and moved to Baton Rouge, working for Exxon Chemical Co. for fifteen years. Retiring again in 1982, he began a third career as a realtor, specializing in Louisiana riverfront properties. He married Laverne Stokes in 1949 and they raised his two children as "Air Force brats", living all over the country. He and Laverne divorced in 1970, and he married Mary Allen, his childhood sweetheart, in 1980. He and Mary lived a good life together as "soul-mates" for 24 years. He was interminably cheerful, even when old, and weak with a touch of dementia. He had a excellent sense of humor and loved to make jokes each day. Everyone who knew him will miss him very much. Friends and family will be received Tuesday, August 21, 2012, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at Harry McKneely & Son Funeral Home, Hammond. Services will be held in the Funeral Home Chapel on Tuesday, August 21, 2012, at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Loranger Community Cemetery.