John James Prewitt, Sr.

Obituary
John James Prewitt Sr
20 Oct 1927 – 21 June 2024

John J Prewitt Sr of Aurora Colorado, Age 96 died peacefully with family at his side on 21 June 2024. John was one of four children of Archie and Minnie (Lucas) Prewitt. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary “Bama” (Fleming) Prewitt, his parents, his brother Harry Prewitt and his sister Janell Nail. He is survived by his children Betty Jo Barth, John J Prewitt Jr and Donald E Prewitt, his sister Amanda DeJulio, six grandchildren, eleven great – grandchildren, one great great grandson and many nieces and nephews.

John was born at the family home in Choctaw County, Weir Mississippi. There were no modern conveniences such as indoor plumbing or electricity and he worked on the family farm growing and picking cotton as well as their garden for their food supply. Sometimes their only meal was cornbread and milk. He realized at an early age the importance of education and strived to improve himself so that his future family would have better conditions.

While attending Holmes Junior College in Goodman Mississippi, he met the love of his life Mary Fleming, whom he would later go on to marry. He proposed to her by telephone when returning to military training school. John served two years in the Navy on the USS Neches from 1945 – 1947 returning to Mississippi after his tour of duty. They moved to Colorado in 1947 with his parents and siblings where he worked various jobs in Olathe, Montrose, Glenwood Springs and Gunnison. In 1949 his daughter Betty Jo was born in Delta Colorado. He joined the Air Force Reserves in 1952 and later converted to Regular Air Force in January 1955. He was assigned to England in March 1955 and traveled there by ship. Mary and Betty Jo followed a few months later by air. In November 1955, his son John Jr was born at Wimple Park Hospital in England. John Prewitt Sr. served at Bentwaters Air Base, England until 1958. He was transferred to Clinton AFB, OK for six months and then assigned to Lowry AFB. While stationed at Lowry AFB, his youngest son, Donald was born in 1960 at the Fitzsimmons Army General Hospital.
He had one remote tour in Pakistan that gave him a greater appreciation for the life that we lived in the United States. Following his tour at Lowry AFB, he was transferred to Maxwell AFB, AL for one year and then onto Amarillo AFB, TX for three years. In 1969, he was assigned overseas to Torrejon Air Base, outside of Madrid Spain. John wanted his family to live on the local Spanish economy so that they could get the full experience of Spanish culture. While living in Spain John and Mary discovered their love of antique shopping at the El Rastro markets (flea markets) and traveling. Just before the family rotated back to the states, he took the family on a tour of Europe traveling by plane, train, automobile and ferries. After spending 5 years in Spain, he was transferred to Andrews AFB in Maryland where after six months he decided to retire to Aurora, Colorado.

Following his retirement from Active-Duty Air Force, he went to work as a civilian with the Air Force Accounting and Finance Center (AFAFC) and was there when it transitioned to become the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS). During his government career he worked in both Accounting and Finance and the Air Force Audit Agency in a military and civilian capacity. John and Mary bought their first new home in Aurora. They lived there until each was called home to be with the Lord.

His hobbies were work, fishing and travel. Following his retirement from civil service, he would travel to the homestead in Mississippi where he grew up to tend the family’s property. They would travel to Hawaii and Europe multiple times. When not working on the family property or traveling, he prepared peoples federal and state tax returns. He loved to go fishing in the Colorado mountains and did so for as long as he was physically able to. His last fishing trip was with his sons on a pontoon boat on Blue Mesa Reservoir and although he didn’t fish, he supervised and was again in one of his favorite elements – fishing. He lived a long and full life over his 96 years, was witness to numerous technological changes. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.