Colonel John P. Ley Jr., USAR, Retired – March 18, 1951 – May 15, 2023

Colonel John P. Ley Jr., USAR, Retired, beloved husband to Anne (Brougham) Ley, St. Mary's, GA, father of Leah Ley (Babak) of Phoenix, AZ, Kevin Ley (Natalie) of Whispering Pines, NC and Eileen Griffin (Matt) of Hoboken, GA, along with eight grandchildren. He was born in Pittsburgh, PA to the late John and Helen Ley and a sibling to Richard Ley (Barbara) of Wexford, PA, Carol Ley of Celebration, FL, Daniel Ley (Becky) of Orlando, FL, and Bonnie Schwarzkopf (Rich) of Oak Hill, VA.

COL (R) Ley attended Pennsylvania State University on an Army ROTC scholarship, majoring in History. Upon graduation in 1973, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in Armor. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law with honors in 1976 and went on active duty in January 1977. COL (R) Ley served a distinguished career in the United States Army as a lawyer in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps, retiring in 2008. COL (R) Ley was the epitome of a servant leader to those he led, coached, and mentored over his 30 years in uniform and a trusted advisor to the commanders and staff with whom he served.

During his Army career, COL (R) Ley served throughout Europe, Asia, and various posts in the US. Notable assignments include Staff Judge Advocate, USASETAF (Vicenza, Italy); Deputy Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Europe and 7th Army (Heidelberg, Germany); Chief, U.S. Army Trial Defense Service; Staff Judge Advocate for 8th U.S. Army, Judge Advocate for U.S. Forces, Korea, and Legal Advisor to the Commander, United Nations, Command; and Chief, International and Operational Law Division, Office of the Judge Advocate General, Army. COL (R) Ley finished his illustrious career molding the future of the JAG Corps as the Director of the Army's Legal Center and Acting-Commander of The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School (Charlottesville, VA). COL (R) tried over 120 courts- martial cases including his service as the lead prosecutor in the capital murder case U.S. v. Loving. In 1994, COL Ley deployed to Goma, Zaire as the Staff Judge Advocate of Joint Task Force Support Hope, providing humanitarian assistance to over two million Rwandan refugees.

COL (R) Ley's service to his country continued long after he took off his uniform. John went on to serve as Clerk of Court of the Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals in Atlanta, GA. After nearly 40 years of service to his country, John retired for a second time in 2014 and moved with Anne to St. Mary's, GA where he continued his life of service to his family. John and Anne met in Augsburg, Germany in 1978. During their 45-year marriage, John and Anne raised three children while traveling the world in service to their Country. John loved history, golf, old movies, Penn State football, and most of all his family. He will be sorely missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the ALS Association – https://www.ALS.org