~ IN MEMORY ~
USAF veteran, LAX/ATL WA/DL Flt. Instructor James Edward “Jim” Dickey
July 29, 1946 – October 12, 2025
James Edward Dickey (Jim) of Fairburn, GA passed away peacefully on October 12, 2025.
Jim was born on July 29, 1946 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Thomas Edward Dickey and Eluned Roberts Dickey. He is survived by his wife Tetiana Ivanets and her son Serhii, and his brother Bob Dickey.
He was blessed to have fallen in love and married Tetiana Ivanets late in life. They met in June of 2018, and were married in March of 2020. She was always with him during his struggles with his health and lengthy hospital stays in 2024 as well as the past 6 weeks. She refused to leave his side. He loved her dearly.
Jim was known to be a very loyal a friend. You could not have had a better friend than Jim Dickey. If you were a friend you could always depend on him to be there to support whatever you needed.
He graduated from Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma in 1964, and attended Cameron University. In 1965 he left Cameron University and joined the Air Force. He spent 20 years in the Air Force and ultimately became a flight engineer. He traveled all over the world and was stationed at Bien Hoa airbase in Vietnam in 1968. There he serviced United States military aircraft. He was at Bien Hoa airbase when it was partially overrun by the Viet Cong in January, 1968. He and his fellow service men defended the base, and at the same time kept the aircraft that defended the base operational.
While in the Air Force he became a flight engineer and flew large cargo planes. After leaving the Air Force he continued as a flight engineer for a number of years. Jim then went to work as an instructor for Western Airlines in California. When Delta Airlines bought Western Jim joined Delta and moved to Atlanta. He became one of their most respected instructors for pilots who were required to take his course, and was often requested by those pilots to be their instructor. He retired from Delta in 2006.
Jim enjoyed working out, and after his retirement from Delta Airlines bought a workout gym. He always charged a very modest amount to join so that others could enjoy working out at a reasonable cost. He made many friends at his gym and could strike up an interesting conversation about almost any subject with someone he had just met.
Jim was a good athlete and a very good golfer when he was young. He lettered on the Lawon High golf team as a sophomore, and enjoyed many rounds of golf with his mom, dad, and brother. And though he had never place kicked in football before, he practiced and tried out for the military football team in Europe, and became the team’s place kicker. He always loved cars. He could take an engine apart, work on it, and put it back together.
While living in California he became involved in drag racing. He built a blown altered dragster, and then actually drove it to many victories. Racing became a real passion, and he made so many friends that were also involved in racing. Racing was so important that when he moved to Fairburn, Georgia just outside of Atlanta, and was looking for a house one of the priorities for the property was to have a large garage so that he could work on his blown altered dragster. He owned a trailer that could transport his car, equipment and parts, and room to sleep in if necessary. He traveled to different parts of the country to race. He named his racing operation appropriately My Favorite Charity.
Jim will be missed by family and his many friends.
A celebration of life service will take place on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at 4 o’clock at the chapel of Parrott Funeral Home with Pastor Jon Schroeder officiating. The family will receive friends from 3:00 until the time of service.
Those wishing may sign the online guestbook at www.parrottfuneralhome.com .
https://www.parrottfuneralhome.com/obituaries/james-dickey-9/#!/TributeWall