Emmett Augustus Niblack, Jr.

Col. Emmett Augustus Niblack, Jr. (Nib or Gus), US Air Force (Ret’d), age 86, of Highlands, NC, died on October 12, 2016, at the Wake Forest Baptist Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Care Center.

Nib Niblack was born on St. Patrick’s Day, 1930, at Ft. Bragg, NC, to Capt. Emmett Augustus Niblack, Sr. and Ethel Reece Redding Niblack.  He attended Biloxi High School in Mississippi, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and the United States Military Academy at West Point, Class of 1952.  On June 7, 1952, he married the former Jolene Stanton of McMinnville, Tennessee.  He received a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1958.   Col. Niblack served in the US Air Force from 1952 to 1978.  He was the recipient of seven combat decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and two Legions of Merit.  He received a Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

Nib was an avid hunter and fisherman and was a Certified Gunsmith 1982-2004.  He was an active member of the Rotary Club of Highlands, serving as President 1986-87, and District Lieutenant Governor 1987-89.  He enjoyed membership in the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the American Legion. He served as Senior Warden of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation 1995-97, and was most recently a member of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church congregation.

He is survived by his wife Jolene Stanton Niblack, his brother, Charles Redding Niblack and wife Yvonne Niblack (née Stewart) of Theodore, Alabama; sister, Nancy Alice Niblack Dantzler and husband Larry Dantzler of Panama City, Florida; daughter Terry Lee Niblack and husband Tim Rickard of Columbus, Ohio; son Mark Thomas Niblack and wife Margy (Pracchia) Niblack of Flagstaff, Arizona; daughter Elizabeth Alison Niblack Baumgarten and husband Doug Baumgarten of Aldie, Virginia; daughter Natalie Reece Niblack and husband Michael Heltsley of Mt. Vernon, Washington; grandchildren Mark Rickard, Frances Rickard, Sabra Starr, and Michael Starr; and great-grandson Dalton Lee Inman Rickard.

A memorial service will take place on October 27, 2016 at 2:00 P.M. at the Highlands First Presbyterian Church, officiated by the Rev. Nick Henderson.  Interment will take place at the Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, NC on October 28, 2016 at 1:00p.m. .  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and/or the Wounded Warrior Project.

Online condolences may be sent to bryantgrantfuneralhome.com

Bryant-Grant Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the Niblack family.

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