Col. Ned Marion Sanders, USAF (Ret.)

Ned Marion Sanders, born 21 July 1931 in Anderson, SC, died peacefully on 5 September 2024 at age 93, surrounded by his family. A distinguished military graduate of The Citadel class of 1953, he was commissioned in the U. S. Air Force and served until March 1986, retiring as a Colonel. He was a Civil Engineer and a Command Pilot with 5200 hours of flight time and 218 combat missions in Vietnam. Ned primarily flew the T-6G, B-25, T-33, C-124, C-131, and C-130B/E and after retirement was active in the Civil Air Patrol as a Squadron Commander. Following active military service, he found a second career in the civil service as a professional engineer at Robins AFB, culminating as Chief of Civil Engineering Design and Construction. His public service continued in a third career in local politics, serving over 10 years as Chairman of the Houston County Commissioners until age 79.

As a youth, Ned was a proud member of the Boy Scouts of America and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1948, he joined the South Carolina National Guard at age 16 ½ and turned 17 during training. After graduating from Boys High School in Anderson, Ned initially planned to attend seminary school and serve in the ministry but was awarded multiple scholarships to attend the military college of South Carolina. At The Citadel, he was all in: a member of the silent precision drill platoon Summerall Guards, sports editor of The Sphinx yearbook, member of the football team, Senior Round Table, and M Company Commander.

Following The Citadel, his 33-year military career involved training, teaching, flying, and civil engineering. When the Air Force Academy opened in 1959, Ned served for three years as an Air Training Officer, filling the role of upperclassman to train the Academy’s first classes of cadets. He taught engineering graphics and basic military skills and helped establish the cadet soaring program, which still trains cadets to fly gliders today. Duty as civil engineer at a remote aircraft warning radar site in Alaska followed. Ned then completed two years of graduate school in structural engineering, receiving a master’s degree from the University of Colorado. He then became Chief of Base Civil Engineering Design, Maintenance, and Construction at Scott Air Force Base for three years where he met his wife, Ruby Annette, an Air Force nurse. Ned and Annette were married for 39 years, 11 months until her death in March 2006. After Scott AFB, Ned and Annette were stationed in the Philippines with Ned flying C-130s in South Vietnam as a Command Pilot. His son, Mark, was born during this overseas tour.

Ned transitioned from active duty to the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard and moved to Warner Robins in 1970 to begin his civil service career at Robins AFB. His daughter, Kelly, was born in 1971. Ned and Annette decided to make Houston County their home. He served as Base Structural Engineer, Chief of the Civil Design group, and Chief of Civil Engineering Design and Construction. He was promoted to Chief of Civil Engineer Programs at the national level for the Air Force Reserve and managed engineering and architectural projects for 13 Air Force Reserve bases. He also completed his MBA from the University of Georgia during this time.

After retiring from the Air Force, Ned entered local politics and was elected Chairman of the Houston County Commissioners. He supervised and sponsored a new courthouse and detention center, provided for emergency sirens, communications enhancement, new library and library modernization, new road construction, drainage, and numerous traffic engineering improvement projects. He contributed in many ways to many causes. He served as Executive Board Member in the Houston County Republican Party, President of the Rotary Club of Warner Robins, President of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, Vice President of the GA state Air Force Association, and as member of the Daedalians, the premier fellowship for military aviators.

Specific to Houston County, in 2003 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued stringent reductions in ozone and particulate matter permissible criteria, which threatened the possible closure of Robins AFB, our “regional economic engine.” Ned organized the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition across 6 counties and 11 cities to ensure compliance and economic vitality in Middle Georgia. In 2019, he was called to the EPA national headquarters in Washington, D.C. and awarded the Thomas Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement Award for clean air excellence. His other awards include receiving The Citadel Brigadier Foundation Harvey Dick Service Award in November 2023, being inducted into The Citadel School of Engineering's Academy of Engineers in April 2024, the Legion of Merit from the Air Force in 1986, Outstanding Service Award from the Air Force Association in 1996, and recognition by Houston County with the dedication of the Ned Sanders Progress Park in 2017.

Ned loved Trinity United Methodist Church and was a long-time member of Hope Sunday School class. He served as a member of the Church mission to Jamacia for five years. Ned led construction projects and Annette served as a nurse helping those less fortunate.

Ned’s passions were many and included skiing in Colorado (which he did until aged 88), following college football, studying geography, charts and maps, and remaining fiercely independent and self-sufficient into his 90s. At 91, he survived the Statham’s Landing EF-3 tornado of 2022, with winds over 150 mph, which demolished his house while he was inside. Unfazed, Ned crawled out of the rubble only after locating his Citadel sword and Class of 1953 ring.

Ned was preceded in death by his wife, Ruby Annette Sanders of Warner Robins, GA, and brother, Wayne, parents, Hugh and Etrulia Sanders, all of Anderson, SC. He is survived by his son, Mark Eugene Sanders, a retired Navy Special Operations officer in San Diego, CA; his daughter, Kelly Jean Wayland, a special education teacher in Canton, GA and his son-in-law, Dr. David Wayland; and his grandchildren, Jackson, Lindsay, and Evan Wayland.

Ned’s philanthropy was all encompassing across churches, scholarships at The Citadel and Newberry College, and many civic organizations. For those wishing to make a donation in his name, a favorite charity is The Methodist Home for Children and Youth of Macon, GA which is a faith-based organization working to equip at-risk youth and families with residential care, foster homes, and counseling to grow into productive members of society. (Giving to The Methodist Home - The Methodist Home) 

Visitation will be Sunday, September 22, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church. A funeral service will immediately follow at 4:00 p.m. Afterward, Ned Marion Sanders will be laid to rest next to his wife, Ruby Annette Sanders, in Magnolia Park Cemetery.

Go to www.mcculloughfh.com to sign the Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.