Mr. John Arthur Sowell, 88, of San Diego, Calif. died on February 13, 2017, at the Scripps Mercy Hospital.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church.
Mr. Sowell was born in Fitzgerald on September 16, 1928, to Jim and
Mamie Lott Sowell. He was preceded in death by his wife of 42 years,
Lois Sowell, a sister, Lois Adamson of Irwinville, and brothers, Homer
B. Sowell of Jacksonville, Fla., and James N. Sowell Jr. of
Fitzgerald.
A 1946 graduate of Fitzgerald High School, he worked several jobs
before enlisting in the Air Force in 1948. He entered the newly
established U.S. Air force on September 1 and began a four-year active
duty career. During his time in the service, he attended basic
military training as well as 8 months at Basic Electronics, Radio and
Radar school at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. While stationed at
Ellington AFB in Texas, he attended night school at the University of
Houston. After serving as a technician and later as an instructor at
Ellington, he reached the rank of staff sergeant before his discharge
on August 26, 1952.
Mr. Sowell joined the civil service with the Department of the Air
Force on December 12, 1952, and began his career at the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in the development of bombs and navigational
systems. He met his wife, Lois, in Warner Robins, and they were
married on Christmas Day of 1952.
During the height of the Cold War, Mr. Sowell’s experience and skills
with bombing navigational systems were called upon for the development
of the world’s first Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). In
1957, he was promoted to chief of the Bombing Systems Navigational
section.
The Sowells moved to California so Mr. Sowell could begin important
national security work supporting missile programs. He received
additional training at several California universities. His work onvthe missile projects involved management over engineering and
technical support for the deployment and sustainment of
nuclear-equipped Titan I and II and Atlas ICBMs. He later worked on
special projects for research and development of space vehicles before
leaving the ICBM program to work on getting the F-111 into service. During the final years of his career, Mr. Sowell worked for the
Defense Support Program on reconnaissance satellites and for the Air Force Space Division on integrated life-cycle support and life-cycle costing of developing space systems. During his career, he received a number of awards. Mr. Sowell was a senior member of the Society of Logistics Engineers, a lifetime member of the Air Force Association and a member of the American Legion.
Survivors include: daughter, Sandra Smith of La Jolla, Calif.;
brothers, William C. (Marjorie) Sowell of Fitzgerald and Bob (Doris)
Sowell of Albany; sister, Mamie Ellington of Fitzgerald, and
grandchildren, Jon (Maria) Smith of Leavenworth, Wash., and Jane (Rob)
Gifford of Jacksonville, Fla.