Nansemond-Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Raiford, Edward F. Sr., 1953 

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EDWARD FRANCIS RAIFORD, SR.  

Edward Raiford, Of Box Elder, Dies at Age 59 

  Suffolk, Feb. 15 - Edward F. Raiford, Sr., 59, died at his Box Elder home at 
7:30 a.m. today. 

  The body was taken to the I.O. Hill and Company Funeral Home in Suffolk. 

  Mr. Raiford was active in church, civic and political work in and around 
Somerton, Holland and Suffolk.  He owned a store at Box Elder, did accounting 
work for Perry and Hofler on the North Carolina highway, dealt in insurance 
and was a tax specialist. 

  During the recent political campaign he was chairman of the Republican 
party, of Nansemond County, and chaplain of the Tri-County Republican Club 
which met in Suffolk. 

  The funeral will be conducted Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. at the Somerton 
Friends' Meeting House by the Rev. James A. Coney, pastor.  Burial will be 
in the church cemetery. 

****************************************************************************** 

Rites Wednesday For E. F. Raiford 

  Funeral services for Edward F. Raiford, Sr., 59, who died yesterday morning 
at 7:30 a m. at his home in Box Elder, will be held Wednesday afternoon at 
2:30 o'clock at the Somerton Friends Church with the Rev. James A. Coney, 
pastor, officiating.  Burial will be in the church cemetery. 

  The body is now at the I.O. Hill and Company Funeral Home, where it will 
remain until Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 o'clock, at which time it will be 
taken to the Friends' Meeting House to lie in state until the funeral hour. 

  Mr. Raiford was an active member of the church, the civic and political work 
in and around Somerton, Holland and Suffolk.  He owned a store at Box Elder, 
did accounting work for Perry and Hofler on the North Carolina Highway, dealt 
in insurance and was a tax specialist. 

  During the recent political campaign he was chairman of the Republican 
party, of Nansemond County, and was chaplain of the Tri-County Republican Club 
which met in Suffolk. 

  A member of the Somerton Friends' Church, he carried on correspondence 
concerning religious work with ex-president Herbert Hoover and became 
acquainted with Vice-President Richard Nixon, with whom he discussed topics of 
a spiritual nature. 

  He was the son of the late Edward J. and Betty Babb Raiford, of Southampton 
County. 

  Surviving are his widow, Ethel Copeland Raiford; a daughter, Mrs. Ann 
Raiford Roeske, of Pompton Lake, N.J., three sons, Edward F. Raiford, Jr., 
stationed in Japan with the armed services; James P. Raiford, stationed in 
Hawaii; Graham Raiford, of Green Bay; three sisters, Mrs. Julian Urqhart of 
Sedley; Miss Mary Lou Raiford, of Green Bay and Mrs. Lula McFarlow, of 
Arlington; four grandchildren. 


Edward F. RAIFORD, Sr., bookkeeper, 
b. 22 Jun 1893, Southampton Co., d. 15 Feb 1953, at home, Box Elder, 
interred in Somerton Friends Meeting Cemetery (North Side, Row 5*), 
   18 Feb 1953, 
"Norfolk Virginian-Pilot," Vol. 206, No. 47, Mon., Feb. 16, 1953, p. 20 
   {image 22}; 
"Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 31, No. 39, Mon., Feb. 16, 1953, p. 2 

*Additional information: 

Buried with his second wife.  Their daughter Mary Jane and Edward's first wife 
   Lottie Mary (COPELAND) RAIFORD are buried in adjacent North Side, Row 4. 
   Somerton Friends list, an extension of the 
   Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/somefr.txt 

A photo of his gravestone - added by Jake Dog - is posted with 
   Find a Grave Memorial #65393101. 

D.Cert. 5096 (Holy Neck #62) 

His wives were sisters.  Their parents, Christopher Columbus & 
   Juliette Norman (PIERCE) COPELAND, are buried in South Side, Row 4. 

His parents, Edward Jackson & "Bettie" Elizabeth Frances (BABB) RAIFORD, 
   are buried in the Corinth Friends Cemetery, Appleton & Clayton Rds. 
   SCHS Cemetery Project, Miscellaneous Cemeteries, Vol. 1 (MV-I-5): 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/cemeteries/miscvol1.txt 

His father's obit ("Tidewater News," May 18, 1923, p. 10) is posted at: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r163e6ob.txt 

Hs mother's obit ("Tidewater News," Aug 13, 1920, p. 1) is posted at: 
   http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r163e2ob.txt 


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file at: 
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/r163e10o.txt