John D. "Jack" Titchener

John David "Jack" Titchener
December 30, 1921 - November 23, 2011
Fayetteville
John David "Jack" Titchener, 89, of Fayetteville, formerly of Wilson, passed away on November 23, 2011 after a lengthy illness. A graveside service will be conducted 2 p.m. Friday in Maplewood Cemetery, Wilson. The Rev. Marty Stebbins will officiate.
John David "Jack" Titchener was born December 30, 1921 in Cortland, New York to the late Walter Edmund Titchener and the late Ruth Lindberg Titchener. He moved with his family to Wilson, NC in 1933 during the Depression. He graduated from The Baylor School for Boys in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1940 and enrolled in UNC-CH, where he participated in Navy ROTC and was a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In 1942, he enrolled in the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School in Chapel Hill, went on to Hutchinson, Kansas and Corpus Christie, Texas for U.S. Navy Flight School, and after earning his wings, he went on to Jacksonville Naval Air Station for flight training. From there, Jack went to the Pacific Theatre, where he served with distinction in several major campaigns, including Iwo Jima and the Phillippines, as a carrier pilot, flying the F6F Hellcat. In 1943, he married his high-school sweetheart, Elizabeth Cook Rogers, who predeceased him. After the war, Jack and his family returned to Wilson, where he took a sales position with Hackney Bros. Body Company, where he worked for many years. In 1974, he moved to Wrightsville Beach and lived there and in Wilmington until he became ill. Jack loved to sing and participated in glee clubs and choirs in high school, college and most recently, as a longstanding member of the St. James Episcopal choir in Wilmington. In 1994, he returned to college and graduated from UNC-Wilmington at the age of 82 in 2004.
He is survived by his four sons, Robert Lee Titchener and wife, Lauren Titchener of Portland, Oregon, Walter Edmund Titchener, II and wife, Sara Titchener of Dunn, NC and William Rogers Titchener and John David Titchener, Jr. and wife, Gayle Titchener, all of Raleigh, NC, eleven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Jack was a man who had no enemies and he will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved him.
The family would like to commend and thank all of the staff at the N.C. Veterans Home in Fayetteville, NC for the consistently excellent care that they provided for Jack during his residence there. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. James Episcopal Church at 25 South 3rd Street Wilmington, NC 28401-4595 or St. Timothy's Episcopal Church at 202 Goldsboro Street East, Wilson, NC 27893-4004.
Arrangements are by Joyner's Funeral Home, 4100 Raleigh Road Parkway.
Condolences may be directed to www.joyners.net.