Obituaries:  Miss Velma Rayburn, Sabine, Vernon Parish       R-165
Source:  Sabine Index, Many, La., Feb 27, 1969
Submitted by: Carl Dilbeck
              carlrad@earthlink.net




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Miss Velma Rayburn

  On Jan. 18, death, the golden key that opens the door to
eternity, came to Miss Velma Rayburn in the Beauregard Memorial
Hospital in DeRidder, following a very brief illness. Funeral
services were held in the Hornbeck Methodist Church, Sunday, Jan.
19, at 2 p.m. Officiating were her pastor, the Rev. R. M. Harrel,
and assisted by Rev. Charles Fike, pastor of the First Methodist
Church, DeRidder. Interment was in the Holly Grove Cemetery.

  Velma Rayburn was born Feb. 26, 1902, in Vernon Parish, at
Barham.

  She attended elementary and high school in Hornbeck. After
graduation from high school, she attended Northwestern State
College at Natchitoches, majoring in music and elementary
education. Later, she attended college at Fort Collins, Colo., to
take special work in her field of teaching, that she might
improve her technique of teaching. Miss Rayburn also took courses
by extension from Fayetteville, Ark. She was a teacher of great
ability, fully prepared to fulfill her duties in this capacity.

  Miss Rayburn not only had the necessary training, but she
possessed the qualities that made her an outstanding teacher.
First, she loved her pupils, and was devoted to directing their
lives into profitable channels, if they were to become first
class citizens. She stressed such traits as honesty, thrift, and
appreciation of the beautiful.

  She was loyal to the school, her employers, and her co-workers.
When assigned a duty, she could be trusted to fulfill that duty.
For many years, she devoted time and talents to the Sabine and
Vernon Parish schools. She left memories in the hearts and minds
of her friends and pupils, that shall long remain.

  Miss Rayburn affiliated with the Hornbeck Methodist Church in
1921, at the early age of 19. She remained an active member until
her death, serving in many capacities, from teaching in church
school, to various offices. At the time of her death, she was
chairman of Commission of Worship, and pianist.

  Her religious life was a practical one. She gave her life in
service for others. Her motto seemed to be: "Love not in words,
neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth". Many are those who
have been ministered to by her in illness, and in times of death
will never cease to miss her.

  She is survived by six sisters, Mrs. Sirman of Hornbeck, Mrs.
Hattie Crowell of Beaumont, Tex., Mrs. Clara Presley, and Mrs.
Lotita Jones of DeRidder, Mrs. Ethel Lee Stewts, and Mrs. Hazel
Langton of Port Arthur, Tex.; and four brothers, Harold Rayburn
of Hornbeck, Steve, and John Rayburn of Beaumont, Texas, and
Clyde Rayburn of Leesville.

  Other survivors are a large number of nieces and nephews, and a
host of friends.