John Charles Thies

THIES, JOHN CHARLES, age 96 of Hoover, Alabama passed away on Veterans Day, November 11, 2025. He was born on June 14,1929, in Birmingham, Alabama, where he lived most of his life except for about eight years in Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

John was an active member of Lakeside Baptist Church, a past member of Central Park Baptist Church where he served as Church Clerk for ten years, and Valleydale Baptist Church.

He graduated from Ensley High School, attended Birmingham Southern College and was a 1951 Mechanical Engineering graduate from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University). He also completed the Public Utility Executive Course at Georgia Tech in 1969. He was a member of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honorary Fraternity, Tau Beta Pi Honorary Engineering Fraternity and Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Scholastic Fraternity at Auburn. He was a member of the Delta Sigma Phi Social Fraternity both at Birmingham Southern and Auburn - active in inter-fraternity football and softball at both, and a life-time member of the Auburn Alumni Association.

John served in the Alabama Army National Guard, then in the U.S. Air Force as an officer during the Korean War, working as project officer on a ramjet engine development for a supersonic inter-continental guided missile at the Wright Air Development Center in Dayton, Ohio, Air Research and Development Command. He received a direct commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force.

He was a Registered Professional Engineer in the States of Alabama and Ohio - retired status in recent years. His working career after graduation from college also included U.S. Air Force Civil Service, Birmingham Fabricating Company, U.S. Steel Corporation and Southern Company Services. He was a manager in the Fuel Department of Southern Company Services for many years and retired from Southern Company Services in 1988 after 24 years of service.

John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Gertrude Thies, who were immigrants from Germany and by his beloved wife, Janice, of sixty and one-half years who passed away October 7, 2013. Now they are together again.

Survivors include John’s daughters, Melissa (Mike) Wilson of Park City, Utah, Brenda (Frantz) Johnson of Hoover, and Becky (William) Lucas of Alabaster, Alabama; grandchildren, Marsha (Nick) Butler of High Springs, Florida, Amanda (Justin) Smith of Birmingham, April (Blake) Kitchings of Hoover, Adam (Lindsay) Johnson of Hoover, Austin (Erika) Lucas of Alabaster, and Trent (Katy) Lucas of Homewood; great-granddaughters and great-grandsons, Cameron Kitchings of Hoover, Troy and Eli Butler of High Springs, Florida, Eliana Butler of High Springs, Gemma Lucas and Greyson Lucas of Alabaster, Perry and Neely Lucas of Homewood, John William Smith of Birmingham (my namesake), and Aaron Johnson of Hoover; one brother, Henry Thies of Hoover; and several cousins in the USA and in Germany.

John headed up the Friends Helping Friends group at Lakeside Baptist Church for about six years and was a member of a Grief Support Group in the community for about the same length of time.

He, like Janice, loved seeing his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up and watching the grandchildren and great-grandchildren play in all types of sports - especially baseball in high school and college. He was an avid Auburn sports fan.

As grandparents, John and Janice attended EVERY grandchild’s recital, sporting, church, and school event. If there were two events at the same time, John attended one event and Janice attended the other event. When they took a Birmingham grandchild somewhere, they always sent money to their out-of-town grandchild Marsha so she was not left out. As parents, they volunteered at church in Sunday School and various of their children’s church activities, schools (PTA), and Girl Scouts. Once their children were grown, they continued to volunteer at their churches.

For the past two years, John attended weekly meetings of the Anchor Ministry for people living with memory loss due to dementia. He moved from his home in September 2024 to The Bungalows at Riverchase assisted living facility. In September 2025 after hospitalization due to congestive heart failure, he moved to the Galleria Woods skilled nursing facility. After a second hospitalization in late October, he returned to Galleria Woods on hospice, where he passed away, in peace and with his family.

The family expresses their appreciation to the staff at The Bungalows and Galleria Woods, the Anchor Ministry at Asbury UMC, and his friend and caregiver Mary Benson.

Visitation will be Tuesday, November 18, 2025 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at Ridout’s Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, Alabama. Funeral services will also be at Ridout’s Southern Heritage on November 18 at 1 p.m. conducted by Dr. Richard Trader. Private interment, Elmwood Cemetery.

For those who desire to do so, the family requests that any memorial contributions be made to the Friends Helping Friends Ministry at Lakeside Baptist Church (2865 Old Rocky Ridge Rd., Birmingham, AL 35243), Anchor Community Respite Ministry – Asbury United Methodist Church (6690 Cahaba Valley Road, Birmingham, AL 35242), or your favorite charity.