Thomas Deriso

Deriso grew up in Americus, GA and joined the United States Air Force

in 1969 after graduating from Georgia Southwestern College. He was a

KC-135 tanker pilot and retired as a Lt Colonel after 20 years of

service. He served during the Vietnam War and his career took him all

over the world, including Okinawa Japan, where he served as a squadron

commander.

After his retirement from the Air Force, Thomas went on to fly with

Delta Airlines for 15 years. At Delta, Tom served as a flight

instructor and as a captain for the MD-88 among other aircraft.

Tom was an active member of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta

where he served as a Deacon. He volunteered his time and energy for

many projects, including the Benevolence Ministry and Disaster Relief.

He made multiple trips to the Gulf Coast after Katrina to assist with

cleanup and recovery.

Thomas is survived by his wife of 44 years, Susan Deriso; son, David

Deriso of Atlanta, GA; daughter, Natalie Murphy of Alpharetta, GA;

mother, Rosella Deriso of Americus, GA; sister, Margie Everett; as

well as three grandsons, Gavin, Owen and Caden.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 11 am at

Johnson Ferry Baptist Church with Rev. Everett Anthony officiating.

Burial with full military honors will take place at 2:30 pm at Georgia

National Cemetery in Canton. The family will receive friends on

Wednesday from 6:00 until 8:00 pm at the funeral home. Online

condolences may be expressed at www.hmpattersoncantonhill.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Johnson

Ferry Baptist Benevolence Fund, 955 Johnson Ferry Road Marietta, GA

30068 or Storehouse Food Pantry, c/o Noonday Baptist Association, 1348

Canton Road, Marietta, GA 30066. H.M. Patterson & Son, Canton Hill

Chapel is honored to serve the family of Mr. Thomas D. Deriso.