Jack Guy was a Naval aviator and a risk-happy fellow who much preferred the freedom of working for himself over the security of a steady paycheck.

But when his World War II days inspired his daughter, Tricia, long after she was married and a mother of young children, to take up flying and skydiving, he was perplexed.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Jack Guy receives the Navy Cross aboard the USS San Jacinto during World War II.

Connie Durham/Courtesy of the Claxton Enterprise (ENLARGE)

Jack O. Guy (left) became friends with former President George H.W. Bush when they both served aboard the USS San Jacinto during World War II.

"Why in the world," he asked her, "would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane?"

Prudence, in other words, was also part of the picture. For example, frightened of running low on fuel, which happened to him once during the war, he never drove his car with a gas tank less than half full, said his daughter, Tricia Guy Chambers of Marietta.

Jack O. Guy, 85, of Atlanta died June 28 of respiratory difficulties at an Atlanta hospice center. The body was cremated. A memorial service will be Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at Patterson's Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Road, Sandy Springs. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park.

The youngest of five children, Mr. Guy grew up in Claxton, where his father, Walter Lonnie Guy, was the owner and operator of the Claxton Hardware and Farm Implement Co.

As a young boy he became fascinated with flying when a barnstorming pilot came through Evans County and gave him a ride in an open-cockpit airplane.

After graduating from Claxton High School, he enlisted in the Navy and, against his mother's wishes, took pre-flight training at the University of Georgia. He served aboard the aircraft carrier USS San Jacinto alongside future President George H.W. Bush, and the two remained friends for life.

Mr. Guy flew torpedo bombers, directing attacks against Japanese warships during the battle of Leyte Gulf and others. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Navy Cross, the latter for a mission in which he torpedoed a Japanese carrier, said his son, Graham Guy of Marietta.

He and his wife, Bea, settled in the Chastain area. He sold insurance for a while but became intrigued when a colleague suggested that he move from the "sure" side of the money, or insurance, to the "unsure" side, or stocks, said his son. As a broker, financial adviser and pension consultant, he looked forward to going to work every morning.

If a colleague uttered, "Thank God it's Friday," his son said, he would answer, "Oh my goodness no, I wish it was Monday already because I can't make money on the weekends."

Generous with the fortune that he earned, Mr. Guy supported his alma mater in Claxton and its football team, the Claxton Tigers. The field house and the scoreboard at the high school's Bell Memorial Field bear his name, and a parking spot at the stadium was marked for his use.

He also created and funded an awards program for outstanding teachers in Claxton and Evans County and called on his friend George Bush to accompany him in 2003 when he presented the first prizes to teachers.

Jack Guy loved the music of his youth, particularly jazz and big-band music, and he loved golfing at the Cherokee Country Club, of which he was a charter member, according to his son. For a party at the club to celebrate his and his wife's 50th wedding anniversary, he hired jazz vocalist Cleo Laine, along with her husband, John Dankworth, and a 10-piece jazz orchestra. "That was a tremendous thing," Ms. Chambers said.

The ballroom at the club was full, and most of the guests were friends of old. "Not only did he make friends," said his son, "he kept them."

Other survivors include five grandchildren; and two great-granchildren.