John Robert Scoggins

John Scoggins joined his heavenly Father on Nov. 23. He spent years beating the odds against illness, allowing his 15 grandchildren the chance to get know his warm heart, jovial attitude and sparkling eyes.

John was born in 1950 as the eldest of four in Smyrna, SC. He spent his childhood among the peach trees and the pine trees of the upstate where he graduated from Hickory Grove High and went on to follow in his father’s footsteps to attend Clemson University. Upon graduating with his master’s degree in 1974, he decided to join the US Air Force.

This career took John from Iceland to Myrtle Beach, to Oklahoma as well as many other places around the world. He loved to tell his children and grandchildren of his riveting adventures flying with AWACS and never failed to tell the story of how he was able to call NORAD with a Santa sighting. His time at Tinker AFB was cut short by the death of his first wife.

John, along with his daughters, moved back east to Marietta where he joined the 116th Air Control Wing. Once settled, he met his wife, Laura of over 42 years, and her two sons. They joined their two little families into one big crazy one in 1984. During his career with the 116th, John had the “supreme enjoyment” of working as a head of military security at the ’96 Olympic Games and being a military liaison for GEMA. John retired from the GA Air Guard in 2003.

With his alma mater, Clemson, never far from his mind, he embraced every moment to share his love for the Tigers with his family, often joining them for tail gates and football games. When he wasn’t talking Clemson football, John was tinkering – with everything. He spent countless hours in his workshop refinishing furniture, fixing tractors, or finding some way to make what he saw as mundane into something just a little bit better.

He retired from the rat race to Rydal where he spent every day during the construction of his dream home “helping” the crew. John became a member of Savior of All Lutheran Church where he found more friendly faces and comrades to tell war stories with and enjoyed his time as a church elder. John and Laura made cherished memories traveling to places they could experience together, most recently this past summer on a cruise down the Rhine River.

John is preceded in death by his granddaughter, Violet, and

survived by his wife, Laura; their four children, Lee (Kalyn), Johanna Lammonds (Kevin), Robert (Rachel), and Suzanne Gayton (Christopher); 15 grandchildren, Dylan, Leyton, Wyatt, Bessanny, Hunter, Larkin, Lily, Savannah, Jensen, Lilly, Oz, Grace, Piper, Faye, and Noah; two sisters, Ellen Kindred (Tony) and Jan Brittain; and one brother, Chip. He will be remembered for helping his children attempt to be handywomen and car mechanics whenever they called in need of his knowledge and missed by all who were fortunate enough to encounter his warmth.

In Lieu of flowers donations may be made in memory of John to Savior of All Lutheran Church.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held on December 15, 2025, at 10:30 am at the Savior of All Lutheran Church, located at 35 Indian Trail SE, Cartersville, GA 30120.

Interment will take place at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, GA, on December 15, 2025, at 2:00 pm.