FAYETTEVILLE - Von Autry Jr., 87, widower of Frances Hensdale Autry, died Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010. He was a resident of Carolina Inn. He was born in Fayetteville on Nov. 29, 1922, and was the son of Pheoria and Von Autry of Fayetteville. As a Fayetteville native, Von Autry Jr. first began working during his teens at a gas station. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps after high school, and graduated from the Aviation Cadet Program as a commissioned officer. He served his country honorably as a pilot in World War II. He was part of the 12th Air Force, serving in Italy and flying photo reconnaissance over Europe, earning his wings in 1944. At the end of the war, he enrolled at North Carolina State University. He received his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering with honors in 1949. While there, he was elected to membership in several honor fraternities, including Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi, national scholastic honor societies. In 1949, he started working as a management trainee for his father-in-law, J.W. Hensdale, at Belk in downtown Fayetteville. Autry worked on a trial basis to see if he would like retail better than engineering. He retired from Belk in 1990 after 40 years of service. during that time, he made invaluable contributions to the growth and success of the Belk organization through his leadership and business skills, working his way from a trainee to assistant store manager in 1951. In 1966, he became group coordinator of the Belk Hensdale stores. In 1968, he was elected executive vice president and secretary/treasurer and then became supervising partner in 1972. Under his leadership, the Belk Hensdale Group grew to include 17 stores and two service and distribution centers in North Carolina, becoming one of the company's most successful groups. He was assisted at Belk and in his retirement by Randa Dunn. Autry served on the board of directors of Belk Stores Services Inc., and provided leadership on numerous Belk Stores Services committees during his career. He served as chairman of the Merchandising Managers' Convention, special project and pension committees, as vice chairman of the employee benefits committee and as a member of the 100th anniversary steering committee. Mr. Autry was a strong and successful leader, giving unselfishly of his time and talents to help numerous business organizations, including helping organize the Downtown Fayetteville Association, serving as its president and as chairman of several of its committees. He was a past chairman of the Fayetteville Merchants Association and past president of the Fayetteville Rotary Club. He was a past chairman of North Carolina National Bank's city board of directors in Fayetteville. He distinguished himself by serving many civic organizations, as a member of the United Fund; Salvation Army Building Fund; the Methodist University board of directors; the Army Advisory Committee, which was a joint effort between Fort Bragg and the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce; the Fayetteville Area Industrial Development Corporation, a patron of the Fayetteville Museum of Art, member of the North Carolina Citizens Association, and member of the Fayetteville Area Economic Development Corporation, and he was a loyal member of the Newcomen Society, Masons and Shriners, and was a past recipient of Methodist University's Entrepreneur of the Year award. Autry was a prominent fund raiser, serving on drives for the Methodist University Fund in Fayetteville, the United Fund, the Salvation Army Building Fund and other community improvement drives. He was an active member of the Highland Country Club, the Fort Bragg Officers Club, the Cumberland Wolfpack Club, the N.C. State Wolfpack Club and the Cotillion Club, and after his retirement, was one of the organizers of the Autry's Golfing Elders (AGE), a group that numbered more than 80 members of golfing buddies who played every week at different courses. He served his church, Haymount Methodist Church, as chairman of its official board, its commission on finance, its board of trustees and its every member visitation committee, and as church treasurer and member of the board of stewards. His philosophy was \\"My, what a fantastic time to be alive,\\" taken from a quote from \\"Megatrends 2000\\" by John Naisbitt. The career achievement of which he was most proud was the role he played in helping young people reach their goals, expecting the best for himself and others. He was loved by his son, Craig, and his wife, Lisa Autry, and their sons, Brooks and Taylor, his daughter, Kay and her husband, the Rev. Canon Philip Purser, and their son, David, and his wife, Shannan Purser, their daughter, Lainey; their daughter, Mary Hampton and her husband, Josh Lovekamp, and their children, Ben, Kate and Will; his sister, Margie Crumbley, his sister-in-law, Dorothy Hensdale Gardner; and brother-in-law, Dick Hensdale and his wife, Raye. He is also lovingly survived by many nieces and nephews. He will be also be missed by his faithful friends and caretakers, Kelly and Kenny Canty, and the staff at Carolina Inn. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 tonight at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home, with the funeral service at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Haymount United Methodist Church, with the Rev. Woody Wells officiating. Entombment at Lafayette Memorial Park Mausoleum will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Hensdale Scholarship Fund, c/o Methodist University Office of Development, 5400 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28311; or to Haymount United Methodist Church Building Fund, 1700 Fort Bragg Road, Fayetteville, NC 28303.