Col. Donald W. Ringley USAF

Col. Donald William Ringley, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), age 90, of Inverness, FL, died July 11, 2015, in Canton, GA. He was born in Massillon, Ohio, to William Leroy and Emma Louise (Drage) Ringley. During WWII, in March 1943, he entered the U.S. Army and later transferred to the Army Air Corp Pilot Cadet Program, from which he graduated as a single-engine fighter pilot. He married Mildred Irene Kiplinger in December 1943. Following the war, he completed undergraduate study in Pre-med at Kent State University, after which he graduated from The Ohio State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1951. He later received his Masters Degree, in Public Health, from The University of California, Berkley, thereafter joining significant service as a Public Health Official to his Air Force veterinary career. In 1967 he was a Distinguished Graduate of The Air War College at Maxwell AF Base in Montgomery, AL. He served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and he saw duty in the Surgeon General's Office and on The White House Staff, Washington, D.C., while Base Veterinarian at Andrews AF Base, MD. He retired in August 1974 after 31years of honorable service. He was preceded in death by his son Ronald William Ringley, who died in 1975, and by his first wife, Mildred Ringley, who died in 1999. He is survived by his wife Jeanne Baab Ringley; by his daughters Karen Chronis (and her husband Harry), of Knoxville, TN, and Kathy Little, of Canton, GA; by his 6 grandchildren (Chloe Fouts, with her husband Brad, of Hobbs, NM; Amanda Cocking, with her husband Brian, of Gilbert, AZ; Adam Little, of Woodstock, GA; Capt. George Chronis, USMC, with his wife Christine, of Stuttgart, Germany; Sarah Vorreiter, with her husband Philip, of Canton, GA; and Rachel Little, of Woodstock, GA), and 12 great grandchildren. Graveside services with full military honors will be held on Thursday, July 16, 11:00 AM, at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, FL. The family will host a private viewing at Northside Chapel Funeral Directors in Roswell, GA, on Tuesday, July 14, from 6 to 7 PM. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his memory to Come Quickly Ministries, 6427 Franconia Road, Springfield, VA 22150 (www.comequicklyministries.org/support/), in support of the Geon Christian Children’s Home, Seoul, Korea. Come Quickly Ministries was founded in 2005 by John-Michael Becker to support efforts that would benefit the orphans of the greater Seoul area in Korea and give them opportunities to experience God. While working closely with the staff of the Geon Christian Children’s Home; this organization has grown so that it now directly oversees ministries that touch the children of 22 other homes in Seoul. Today Come Quickly Ministries trains and coordinates volunteers so that together they provide mentoring and meaningful experiences for the children.

Col. Donald W. Ringley USAF

September 15, 1924 - July 11, 2015