MUMMA, John Rathbone

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ February 27, 2007 John Rathbone Mumma, 87, died at home in Tucson Feb. 3, 2007. He was born in Morgantown, W.V., the son of Army Brigadier General Harlan Leslie Mumma and Juliette Rathbone. John attended Georgia Institute of Technology where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity before entering the U.S. Army in 1941, where he served for 22 years and retired in 1963 as a lieutenant colonel. During WWII he served in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska and, in 1954, served as an advisor in French Indo-China (Vietnam). Following retirement from the Army, he moved to Phoenix, where he worked in the engineering department of the City of Phoenix, serving as the chief of Administration Services. While living in Phoenix, he and his wife were active in the Dons Club. He retired again in 1977 and moved to Florida. After 15 years of missing the southwest, he and his wife returned to Arizona, settling in Tucson, and continued to enjoy their log cabin in Pinetop. Throughout his life, he maintained a passion for his family, enjoyed extensive and frequent worldwide travel, and kept a keen eye on sports. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dorothy Elam; sister, Juliette Cherie Redington of Pinetop; son, John Harlan Mumma, a retired Army colonel, and wife, Carolyn Goodell of Ada, Mich.; daughter, Suzanne Mumma Aupperle, and husband, Michael L. Aupperle of Attleboro, Mass; two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Preceding him in death was his brother, Harlan Leslie Mumma Jr. Interment will be at the Arlington National Cemetery April 18. Family requests in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of John R. Mumma to: Fisher House Foundation, Inc., 1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 600 Rockville, MD 20852 or www.fisherhouse.org.