Benjamin Clyde Puckett Jr.

Benjamin Clyde Puckett, Jr., passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, May 23, 2024. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 at Liberty Church with Reverend Jack Osburn and Dr. William W. (Billy) Oliver officiating. Burial will follow in Liberty Methodist Church Cemetery with Full Military Honors. Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service in the sanctuary. The family appreciates consideration of gifts made in memory of Benjamin Clyde Puckett, Jr. to the Liberty Methodist Church Cemetery Fund at 3212 Avant Road, Macon, GA 31216.

Benny was born in Byron, Georgia on June 6, 1938 to the late Margaret (Young) and B.C. Puckett, Sr. He was raised in south Bibb County on Walden Road where decades later he developed the Walden Woods subdivision for his children and grandchildren. He was a third-generation member of Liberty United Methodist Church, attended Dr. John H. Heard Elementary School in Rutland community and Lanier High School in Macon. With a love of all things fast and mechanical, he went on to earn his Bachelor degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1960 from the Georgia Institute of Technology where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and the Yellow Jacket Marching Band.

While a student at Georgia Tech, he met Elizabeth Reed of Decatur, GA. They married in Decatur on March 20, 1960. Upon graduation from Georgia Tech, Benny was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Air Force with his first duty as a missiles officer at Vandenberg AFB, California, where he was assigned to the MIDAS SAMOS Space system. In 2002, his system was declassified and made a permanent exhibit at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

At Vandenberg, he and Elizabeth began their family with the birth of “Benjy” and Debbie. Missing the closeness of family, they moved back to south Bibb County, eventually built their family home on Walden Road near his parents and had two more daughters, Laura and Angela. Benny and Elizabeth loved being close to friends and family. They especially loved their lifelong friends who were in the Lucy Young Sunday School class at Liberty. Many of those friends had been Benny’s friends since his childhood.

Upon leaving active duty in 1964, he remained in the US Air Force Reserves. With Elizabeth’s support, he attended the Air War College to prepare for his Reserve assignments with the 34th Maintenance Squadron, ultimately becoming the Commander of the 402nd Combat Logistics Support Squadron (CLSS) at Robins AFB until his USAFR retirement as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1988. He worked as an aerospace engineer at Robins AFB until his retirement in 1995. During that time, he worked on various aircraft systems including the C-130 (also supported by his son, Ben, and currently by his grandson, Nathan), the C-141 (also supported by his daughter, Debbie), F-15, various helicopters and other aircraft-related programs. He developed flight tests as well as conducted aircraft crash investigations.

Benny was an aviation enthusiast, engineer, and pilot. He flew his first solo flight on May 28, 1961, the same day his son was born. He was a lifetime member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and Robins AFB Aero Club. He took his father-in-law flying in 1967 in a small, single-engine plane where they “landed” in a tree. He always said he had one more take-off than landing in his pilot’s log book.

Benny loved tennis above all sports and built a tennis court for his family so that he could play every day. His parents had once had a tennis court of sorts back in the 1940’s where Benny played with rackets that were sometimes strung with copper wire. He played regularly and in tournaments at the Robins Officers Club and John Drew Tennis Center where he and Elizabeth were active members of the Macon Tennis Association. Only in very recent years did he hang up his racket after being a member of the Men’s Tennis Club where he played weekly with his many tennis friends.

Loving the outdoors and adventure, Benny was part of the Boy Scouts Troop 20 for many years. His son earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1978. Elizabeth and his daughters regularly participated in Scouting adventures with Troop 20, so everyone loved camping, hiking, and all things scouting. All of his daughters married Eagle Scouts and several of his grandsons were also Eagle Scouts, making him very proud. Benny felt very fortunate to have enjoyed 55 years with his late wife Elizabeth. After many years of being a caregiver to Elizabeth who passed away in 2015, he found joy again when he married Janice Mercer Simpson on May 28, 2017. They spent several years traveling to Janice’s farm in Blakely, GA, traveling to Hawaii, visiting all of their children and grandchildren, attending musicals and Macon Little Theater events. Together they built a wonderful new home in Walden Woods. Janice was his loving wife as well as his caregiver throughout his extended illness. Janice’s endless energy, optimism and faith provided Benny with an exceptional quality of life for which he was so grateful.

He is survived by his wife, Janice Mercer Simpson Puckett; children, Benjamin Reed (Derita) Puckett, Laura Puckett (Steve) Bell, and Angela Puckett (Allen) Freeman, all of Macon, Georgia and Deborah Elise (Jewitt Kitchens) Puckett of Augusta, Georgia; and grandchildren Reed (Kelly) Puckett, Nathan (Leah) Puckett, Harrison Bell, Gracie Bell, Caroline (Alex) Davis, Allison Freeman, Jewitt Kitchens Jr., Jillian Kitchens and great-granddaughter, Palmer Puckett. He also enjoyed spending time with Janice’s children Laurie (Bill) Meilinger of Warner Robins, Brad (Angie) Simpson of Evans, and Kathyrn (Scott) Clontz of Waynesville, NC as well as Janice’s grandchildren, Morgan (Kyle) Minter, Carson Meilinger, Zachary Simpson, Thomas Simpson, Joseph Clontz, and Sam Clontz.

Please visit www.snowsmacon.com to express your condolences and share memories with the family. Snow's at Macon Memorial Park has charge of arrangements.