John Minks (Maj.USAF, Ret.)

John Minks (Maj.USAF, Ret.) navigated his last C-130 Hercules flight on October 9th, 2024 succumbing to lung cancer and Parkinson’s disease. John avoided being drafted (by seven days) in 1967 by joining the Air Force after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Geology. He served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1972 as a navigator for C-130’s flying 692 combat missions and sorties including Operation Blind Bat along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He was awarded numerous metals for distinguished service. His first transfer stateside was to test and evaluate Omega, the first worldwide air navigational system for USAF. In 1977 he was assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB), in the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center (AVOTEC) for the Air Launched Cruise Missile System. His last assignment in England is where he completed 21 years of service and was part of the North Atlantic search and rescue operations. After retiring from the Air Force in 1989 he went to work for the State of New Mexico’s Department of Workforce Solutions. His efforts greatly enhanced New Mexico’s apprenticeship fund. He was born in 1943 at Maxwell Army Air Base in Montgomery, Alabama to Guy Marion Minks and Lois Myers—the first of their five children. He is preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Doreen McCoy Minks of Troon, Scotland, and one brother, Raymond (killed in Vietnam 1971). He is survived by his second wife of 21 years, Judith Minks, as well as one daughter, Jenniffer Minks (Col. USAF, Ret.) (Chris), three step-daughters, Kim Allen (Dudley), Erica Moss and Jackie Apodaca (Jeff), as well as three sisters Marian Minks (Susan), Jeanie Elwood (Gary), and Marie Minks Johnson. In addition there are seven beloved grandchildren Jocelyn (Dan), Kelsey (Scott), Eric (Kaylee), Thomas, Liam, Asher and Gage, as well as five great grandchildren Mila, Gabriel, Teddy, Kaiser and Amaya. After retirement John was a longtime volunteer at the Wheels Museum in Albuquerque. If your circumstances allow and in lieu of flowers, remembrances to the Wheels Museum or RIP Medical Debt will honor his memory.

A Celebration of Life for John will be held on Friday, November 8, 2024, 11:00 a.m. at FRENCH-Lomas.