Walter Jerry Riddle

Walter Jerry Riddle, age 82, of Montezuma, Georgia, passed away Tuesday, August 29, 2023 at Houston Healthcare, Perry, Georgia.

A service will be held Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at the rostrum at Andersonville National Cemetery at 10:00 AM. Military honors will be rendered. The family will receive friends immediately after the service at Mt Zion – St. Luke Lutheran Church, 401 Randolph Street, Oglethorpe, GA 31068. Pastor Barbara Koch will officiate the service.

Jerry enlisted in the U. S. Airforce working as a Nuclear Weapons Specialist. When Jerry got out of the Airforce, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of Captain. Jerry served two tours in Vietnam, where he served as a helicopter pilot and instructor pilot. Jerry received the Distinguished Flying Cross while serving in Vietnam. This is the third highest military decoration a member of the U.S. military can earn. Only members who show exceptional heroism when engaging in aerial flight receive this decoration.

He returned to Montezuma after his military service to start a crop-dusting business. He later worked as a truck driver, warehouse manager at Weyerhaeuser and retired from Robins Airforce Base in 2020.

Jerry was born in Montezuma, Georgia on December 24, 1940 to the late Cullen Van-Buren Riddle and Alvie Voss Riddle. Jerry was preceded in death by two sisters, Juanita Stowe and Winona Olive; and a brother, Cullen Riddle.

Jerry is survived by his loving wife, Julia Snipes of Montezuma, Georgia; two daughters, Maria Broadhead (Jason) of Austin Texas and Lawana Sieckmann (Martin) of Georgetown, Texas; four grandchildren, Hannah Broadhead, Jackson Broadhead, Ava Sieckmann and Stephen Sieckmann and devoted caregiver, Marsha Norris.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jerry’s name to a favorite veterans organization or animal charity.

Friends may visit online at www.watsonmathewsfuneralhome.com to extend condolences to the family.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Watson-Mathews Funeral Home in Montezuma, Georgia.