~ IN MEMORY ~
USAF veteran, DL Capt. Joseph G. Oliver Jr.
February 4, 1936 ~ January 22, 2025
Retired Delta pilot and Delta Golden Wings member Captain
Joseph “Joe” Gardenhire Oliver Jr., age 88, passed away at his home in Atlanta
on January 22nd. Joe joined Delta Air
Lines 11-10-1958 and retired with Delta in February 1996. He is survived by his wife Gail, and by his
children and grandchildren, along with his many friends and colleagues. Memorial
services for Joe will be held this Saturday, February 1st in the HM Patterson -
Arlington Chapel.
PCN memorial site :
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/sandy-springs-ga/joseph-oliver-12212040
IN THE CARE OF H.M. Patterson & Son-Arlington
Chapel
Capt. Joseph G. Oliver Jr., age 88, passed away at
his home in Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Joe was born on
February 4, 1936 in Nashville, Tennessee and was the only child to Mary Cato
Oliver and Joseph G. Oliver Sr. He is survived by his wife, two children, and
two grandchildren: Gail Oliver, Joseph G. Oliver III (wife Nadine Oliver),
Merrin Oliver Jeffries (husband Carson Jeffries), Shane Patrick Jeffries (4)
and Josephine Olivia Jeffries (1).
After graduating from Hillsboro High School in
1954, Joe enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he quickly rose to the
ranks of Captain before joining Delta Airlines as a pilot in 1958. In his time
flying with Delta, Joe served on the Delta Central Air Safety Committee and
chaired the All-Weather Flying Committee. His work resulted in the development
of a series of technical revisions and critiques of advanced aircraft
instrumentation, cockpit displays, and automated landing systems, which led to
substantially improved flight path information for pilots and earned him a
highly esteemed safety award from The Airline Pilots Association. He retired as
Captain from Delta in 1996. After retirement, Joe kept himself busy as a
demonstration pilot for Pilatus Aircraft and later a real estate broker for
Coldwell Banker.
Joe’s biggest passions were flying, his family,
and sailboats. He met his wife, Gail, on a flight soon after she graduated from
flight attendant school, and he never let her go. They enjoyed 56 years
together and 50 years of marriage, traveled the world together, and raised
their family in the home Joe designed and built in Sandy Springs, Georgia. They
built and raced their sailboat, The Rebel, on Lake Lanier, and afterwards
continued to charter sailboats in the Virgin Islands with family and friends. Joe
was known for his unshakeable and warm demeanor, subtle and witty humor, and
reliability. The Oliver house served as the center for all holidays and special
occasions over the decades, and Joe took great pride and happiness from filling
his house with good food and “fine people” (as he would say). His death is a
profound loss felt by his family and friends. May he find blue skies and
tailwinds on his final flight West.
A memorial of Joe’s life will be held at 3:30 pm
on February 1 in the HM Patterson Arlington Chapel. Flowers will be accepted,
or tribute gifts can be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
………………….. https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/capt-joseph-g-oliver-jr
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