John William Droke, LTC, USAF (Ret)

John William “Bill“ Droke died July 1, 2025. He lived his 79 years to the fullest and leaves a
legacy that will be spoken about for generations to come.

Bill was born on August 6, 1945 in Kingsport, Tennessee. He grew up on a small farm in Church
Hill, in the community of McPheeters Bend, nestled in the beautiful hills of Appalachia. He was the only child to Paul and Blanche. Bill’s greatest memories of his childhood were playing in those hills, hanging out with his lifelong friends, and being centered around church and school activities. In high school, Bill became a force of nature on the football field and went on to play ball at Lees McCrae in Banner Elk, North Carolina and East Tennessee State in Johnson City. Football was Bill’s lifelong passion. In the military, Bill played football in Japan & Italy. He became a football coach in Italy & Germany and mentored many young people, with the game & strategy of football as his tool. He passed his love of football onto his children, Daniela and Paul. Daniela managed her high school football team and Paul went on to have a stellar football career in his own right. Bill was not as successful in teaching his wife the game of football, but he always knew she tried passionately to understand!

After college, Bill became a career US Air Force officer and spent over 24 years as an Air Traffic Controller. His commitment to serve his country influenced the rest of his life. Along the way, his laughter, his sense of humor, his sense of fairness of right and wrong, and his empathy toward others created an atmosphere for the people around him to do their best and be their best.

Bill’s career took him all over the world. He served in Japan & Vietnam. But when he was
stationed at Homestead Air Force Base in Miami Florida, he didn’t know he would meet “the love
of his life” better known as Debi. Their tumultuous love story began in Miami, endured his tour of Thailand, and when he was stationed at Aviano, Italy, and Debi was a student in Florence, they decided they were not leaving the country without each other. They were married in November of 1975. Daniela was born in Italy in 1978. Their marriage certificate was in 11 languages and Bill often said there was not one country in the world he was not legally married to Debi. Debi always reminded him of this!

Other highlights of Bill’s Air Force career included a Communications Commander’s position at
Bitburg Air Base Germany. Bill’s squadron was instrumental when President Reagan had his
infamous visit to Bitburg in 1985. But the real highlight was when his son Paul was born in 1986. Bill was the only Commander on base with young children, and he sheepishly smiled when he realized at the tender age of 40 he was the oldest newborn father on the base. His humor took it in stride and his squadron showered the Droke family with love and joy of this momentous occasion.

In 1988, Bill had the honor of being selected as the Commander of Berlin Germany’s
communication squadron. This was an Air Traffic Controller’s dream job. It was during the
occupation of Berlin and his Air Traffic Controllers were the crème de la crème of ATC. They
were in charge of the three free fly zone corridors coming in and out of West Berlin. To be
selected as an air traffic controller for this very high-stake job was truly an honor, and it was a testament of confidence and capability to be the commander of these amazing air traffic
controllers. Who would’ve ever thought in 1989 the Berlin wall would come down and in 1991
East & West Germany would reunify! Bill and his people were instrumental in bringing the two
air spaces back together again and everyone stationed in Berlin during this time was a part of
daily history making.

As Bill’s career wound down in the Air Force, he looked forward to retirement in the civilian
world. He became a professor at the University of North Dakota in the department of air traffic control and traveled the world recruiting students. Bill and his family moved to Washington DC in 1997 where he worked for Boeing & promoted ATC worldwide. The culmination of his career was supporting the FAA as a Senior Advisor for air traffic control.

While living in the DC area, Bill joined the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department (VVFD) where he
was a member for 15 years. His favorite role was playing Santa for 12 of those years. His love of children came through loud and clear. The VVFD has become an intricate part of the Droke Family.

Bill was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in June 2018. His struggle for 7 years was truly heartbreaking to witness. But this did not define who he was. For those who knew Bill loved him. He was defined by his laughter and his belief that the world was a great place to live in and his unbelievable sense of humor. Even in his darkest days as Alzheimer’s took over, his family would roar with laughter at his ability to find the humor and the humanness in this incredibly cruel disease.

Bill and Debi would have been married 50 years in November 2025. He almost made it – that was
his ultimate goal. His family will celebrate in honor of him and their incredible love story. Bill will be with us in spirit and look over Debi, Daniela, Paul, his wife, Kelly, and his two amazing grandchildren, Remington Joy and Baier Kevin William.

Bill will be buried with full Military Honors at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers his family is requesting you make a donation in his honor to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The Droke Family appreciates the outpouring of love and stories from all over the world. It has been truly a blessing and a comfort to know how much our “Mr. Beel” was loved and cherished.