John L. Shumate, of Memphis, Tenn., died July 10, 2014. Born in Washington, D.C. December 3, 1922, John attended Bethesda Chevy Chase High School where he excelled in both the classroom and the athletic field, serving as his class president for all four years while lettering in baseball and basketball, and being named to the first ever Washington D.C. all district basketball all star team. Due to his high school successes, he was recruited by the likes of the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and the United States Military Academy at West Point, but chose to attend The Citadel on a full scholarship. He attended The Citadel as a member of the Class of 1944, dubbed “the Class that Never Was.” At the height of World War II, the entire class was called to military duty in May of 1942, and thus the Class of 1944 became the only class in the history of The Citadel to not graduate as scheduled. He served as an officer with the 517th Parachute Infantry Regimental Combat Team, assigned at various times to the 13th, 17th and 82nd Airborne Divisions for 4 years. Known as “The Battling Buzzards” whose motto was “Attack”, the 517th was highly decorated and saw action in several European campaigns, including participation in the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne and then onward into Germany. When the Japanese ultimately surrendered to end the war, the 517th was already on its way to Asia to stage for the invasion of Japan. After the war, he attended the University of Maryland, where he graduated with BS & MBA degrees, and earned varsity letters in basketball & baseball. He then was employed by Thomas Cook & Son Travel Service in Washington D.C. and served as branch manager for the company in Buffalo, Memphis & Dallas. In 1955 he co-founded Mid-South Travel Service in Memphis with the late Sara P. Hull, operating it for 44 years, while becoming a pioneer in the Memphis travel industry. He was one of the founders of the Memphis Skäl Club in 1971, serving as its president in 1974-75, and is credited with helping to bring the first transatlantic jet service into Memphis.
One of the highlights of his travel career was booking a group of 95 passengers on the QE2 to Europe with return on the British Airways Concorde, the first and only visit to Memphis by supersonic passenger jet. Other highlights of his career were the four Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce business development tours he organized and conducted in the 1960s to Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In later years, the most rewarding trips he arranged were for the Forever Young Senior Wish Organization – tours for WWII veterans to Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge area beginning in 2011 and still going strong today.
He is survived by 3 nephews and their families – James Shumate of Laguna Niguel, CA, Joseph & Thomas Shumate of Okeana, OH, and Betsy Woniger of Bluffton, SC, a niece.
For information regarding the services please email [email protected]
Inurnment will be at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C.
Any gifts may be made on behalf of John L. Shumate to Forever Young Senior Wish, P.O. Box 1381, Collierville, TN 38027.
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