Obituary of John Thomas Sondey

John T. Sondey, Jr., age 84, passed peacefully on July 27, 2017 in Chapel Hill, NC. John was born on August 24, 1932 in Castle Hayne, NC to the late John, Sr. and Victoria Sondey and was married to Jean W. Sondey. John graduated from New Hanover High School in Wilmington, NC and joined the US Navy. He served in Korea during the Korean conflict. He retired as a civil servant from the NC National Guard in 1989 having attained the rank of CW4. During his long career, he received numerous recognitions, awards and achievements. Survivors include daughters Pam (Tom) Doyle of Miramar Beach, FL and Ginger Chmelewski of Raleigh, NC; son Tommy (Katja) of Heusenstamm, Germany; sisters Virginia Musial of Altamonte Springs, FL and Irene Stahr of Ogden, IA; four grandchildren Timothy Sondey, Lauren Chmelewski, Mitchell Chmelewski and Emily Chmelewski; sisters-in-law Christine Mills of Wilmington, NC and Ann (Bud) King of Clinton, NC; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. John is preceded in death by his wife, Jean W. Sondey; son-in-law Tom Chmelewski; sister-in-law Joyce Peterson; and brothers-in-law Walt Musial, Mike Stahr, Gary Mills, Ray Westbrook and Gerald Peterson. The family will receive family and friends for a visitation on Monday, July 31st at Walker's Funeral Home in Chapel Hill, NC from 5 pm to 7 pm. A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday, August 1st at 10 am at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill, NC. A light reception will be held at the church after the service with a graveside service and internment to follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation by going to https://www2.jdrf.org. Select the blue 'Donate' button at the top of the page, click on 'Support a Fundraiser', click on 'One Walk', then search for Emily Chmelewski, Raleigh 2017 or search for team 'Sweet Soles'; click 'donate' and select team member 'Emily Chmelewski'. Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill is honored to serve the Sondey family.