John Roy Medford, Jr.

John Roy Medford, Jr passed away at the age of 82 at home surrounded by his family on August 13, 2023 from pancreatic cancer. John was born May 7, 1942 in Dover DE and was raised in Henderson MD by his parents Esther Eileen Cole Medford and John Roy Medford, Sr. He attended Henderson Elementary School and then moved on to Greensboro High School. After high school, John worked for some local companies and at the family mill before enlisting in the United States Air Force. John served 3 years, 9 months and 11 days, not that he was counting. After basic training, John married Zetta June Weaver. They had sixty amazing years together. Air Force training took them to Syracuse University in New York for nine months, San Angelo, TX and finally survival training in Reno NV. He then finished up his time in the Air Force at Yakota Air Force Base in Japan as a Russian linguist with the 6988th Security Squadron. During his time there, he flew in and out of Vietnam and had several TDYs, serving his country and democracy. John became a father while stationed in Japan. Daniel Brian Medford and Steven Michael Medford were born to the joy of both John and June. He thought nothing was better than those two boys of his. John worked at NSA from 1967 until 1997. NSA sent John on TDY for two years in Alice Springs Australia between 1976-1978. While working, he also attended George Washington University and the University of Maryland, earning his bachelor’s degree. John was an avid baseball, softball and basketball player with a little soccer and volleyball thrown into the mix every now and again. After his retirement from the working world, John played softball on teams that won five Baltimore Beltway League championships, five Maryland Senior Olympic gold medals, and numerous ring championship tournaments in the ISA, ISF, ISSA, SPA, SSWC/SSUSA and SSWS organizations. Most of these championships were won with C&C Mechanical, BW Masters, Hamel, Tri County, Montgomery Seniors, Glen Burnie and the Cavaliers. During his softball career, John was selected for all-world, all-tournament, or all-star teams in the above-named organizations. He was also named the Outstanding Defensive player in ISSA and SPA tournaments. He was elected to several Senior Softball Hall of Fame organizations over the years. John is survived by his wife of 60 years, June Medford, his sons Daniel (Annie) Medford, Steve (Adrianne) Medford, grandchildren Andrew (Elizabeth) Medford, Coral Medford, Erica Henkel, Tate Medford, and great-grandson Jude Medford. He is also survived by his sister Sally (Bill) Wright, brother Bill (Linda) Medford and numerous nieces and nephews who all love their Uncle John. A Celebration of Life will be held on Oct 14, 2023 at Historic Baldwin Hall (1358 Millersville Rd., Millersville MD 21108) from 2pm until 7pm. There will be food so come hungry, come dressed casually, maybe even in a ball shirt and be sure to bring some stories with you to share about your experiences with John. In lieu of flowers the family would suggest donations be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake at hospicechesapeake.org. They were absolutely wonderful to the family. John will be truly missed. He touched so many lives over the years in so many ways. He was a good man.

John Roy Medford, Jr.

May 7, 1941 - August 13, 2023