John “Hop” Cecil Corley (USAF Major, retired) died on April 29, 2019 in Niceville, FL. Hop was born in Sedalia, MO on March 7, 1932. His family moved to Columbia, MO when he was a teenager, where he graduated from Hickman High School in 1950.
He was married to Patsy Ruth Bozarth in 1954. John earned his BS in Accounting from the University of Missouri, Columbia and was commissioned into the United States Air Force. He proudly served for 20 years, first as a navigator and later, after receiving a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, as an engineer where he made significant contributions to the development of the B-58, FB-111 and B-1 bomber programs.
During his career, he traversed the globe six times and served on every continent except Australia. His permanent duty stations spanned the continental US, culminating in his retirement at Edwards AFB, CA in 1974. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, Hop brought his family back to Columbia, MO where he earned an MS in Electrical Engineering.
He had other careers, working for the State of Missouri and then for the University of Missouri before retiring completely in 1997. He lived in Columbia until 2016, when he moved to northwest Florida to be near his son’s family. Hop is survived by his two children, Karen Minor of Crestview, FL and John D Corley and wife, Lissa (Whitmarsh), of Niceville, FL.
He is also survived by two granddaughters, Jessica Miller and husband, Joshua, of Niceville, FL and Lauren Corley of Gainesville, FL. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patsy Ruth Bozarth and son-in law, Mark Minor. Hop’s surviving siblings include Nancy Adkins of Centertown, MO as well as Betty Burdick and Edwin B. Corley of Columbia, MO.
John accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior when he was 13 years old. As an adult, he served as a faithful member, teacher, deacon or trustee in every church he attended. At the time of his passing, Hop was a member of the Woodlawn Baptist Church in Crestview, FL.
Funeral services will be held Monday, May 6th at Bach-Yager Funeral Chapel in Columbia, Missouri at 1610 N. Garth Ave. Visitation is scheduled for 2:30 PM with the service following at 3:30 PM. Afterwards, he will be laid to rest at Memorial Park Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, request remembrances to: The Wounded Warrior Project at: Woundedwarriorproject.org Or Woodlawn Baptist Church Building Fund in Crestview, Fl at: Woodlawnbaptist.com Donations may be made to: Wounded Warrior Project 7020 A.C. Skinner Parkway, Suite 100, Jacksonville FL 32256 Tel: 1-877-832-6997 Web: www. woundedwarriorproject.org/ Woodland Baptist Church Building Fund Crestview FL Web: www.
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