John Doise Jeter

St. Martinville - A Memorial Service will be held at a later date for John Doise Jeter, 83, who died on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. John was born in 1925 in Eldorado, Arkansas. His father was a farmer and John spent much of his childhood working the field behind mules and draft horses. He joined the Army Air Corps at 18 years of age and served until the end of World War II, as a tail gunner on a B-17 Bomber. John flew 24 bombing missions in Europe. He was twice shot down behind enemy lines, was involved in two crashes with other bombers, and was the only survivor of fifteen aboard when his airplane hit a church steeple in Italy the day after the armistice was signed. He returned home after the war and attended the University Of Texas Engineering School, where he earned a B.S. degree in engineering. He then earned a Master's degree in management from the University of Florida. John married Ethel Stoops in 1950, had his first son, Mark, in 1953 and second son, Karl, in 1954. John worked in the aerospace industry as an engineer at Martin Marietta where he distinguished himself in the development of ground-to-air missiles; this led to his employment at NASA in 1960. At NASA, he set up and managed the materials analysis branch, which was responsible for the investigation of all failures of early manned spacecraft. John remained as chief of this division from the first manned flight in 1960 until the moon landing in 1969, winning many personal and division achievement awards. John returned to the private sector in 1970 and worked as an engineer and manager for a succession of manufacturers of oil drilling and related equipment. Since 1980 John worked for himself as a consulting engineer and a patent agent, acquiring many patents for his customers, as well as thirty patents for his own designs. He was a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and many other organizations of engineers, patent agents, and inventors. John and Ethel built and operated the Saint Martin Preparatory School where the both gave their time and effort generously from 1985 until 2000. Survivors include his wife, Ethel S. Jeter, of St. Martinville; sons, John Mark Jeter and his wife, Emily Shepard Jeter, of Columbia, MO, and Karl Duane Jeter, of St. Martinville; one brother, Basil Jeter and his wife, Jane, of Wichita Falls, KS; and two grandchildren, Chelsea and Erin Jeter, of Columbia, MO. He was preceded in death by his parents, John M. and Melba Byrum Jeter; a brother, Duane Jeter; and sister, Maurine Heffley. Pellerin Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.