Southampton-Isle of Wight County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Rawls, Walter C. Sr., 1964 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ WALTER CECIL RAWLS Walter Cecil Rawls Dead At 69; Rites Are Pending Walter Cecil Rawls died at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at his home, Blueberry Hill, near Smithfield. He was 69, and had been in ill health for several years. Funeral arrangements were incomplete late Saturday night. I.O. Hill Funeral Home of Suffolk will announce funeral arrangements when completed. Rawls, who has been active in civic affairs, was best known in this area for providing funds to start and perpetually operate the Walter Cecil Rawls Library and Museum at Courtland. But he has previously made substantial gifts to other libraries, including another in Southampton County and Gates County, N.C. In 1960 Rawls was awarded a Special Citation for Library Philanthropy from "Who's Who in America." The award has been made twice for about 25 years to honor benefactors of libraries and to call attention to gifts by individuals in order to bring about increased education and library philanthropy. Rawls was also interested in and gave full support to education projects. In about 1954 he established the Walter C. Rawls Education Foundation in Gates County, N.C., and within a few years extended the foundation's benefits to Suffolk and the Counties of Nansemond, Southampton, Isle of Wight and others. The Rawls Education Foundation provides financial gifts to worthy high school seniors. These students are selected by a special board, and the funds granted them are used to further their education. Rawls was a member of Oakland Christian Church. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Ella Freeman Rawls; two sons, Dr. Thomas Rawls, Pompano Beach, Fla., and Walter C. Rawls Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.; one sister, Mrs. D.N. Lewis, Lynchburg; two brothers, David Rawls, Smithfield, and Robert Rawls, Norfolk, and five grandchildren. His parents were the late David Nathaniel and Mrs. Annie Cofer Rawls of Ivor. Rawls had a phenomenally successful career. He invented the first television set sold to the American public. Although crippled as a child by polio, he overcame this handicap to become president of the Carolina and Northeastern Railroad Co. and the Albemarle Steamship and Navigation Co. In recent years he has devoted fulltime to managing investments and looking toward library and educational foundation work. [photo, captioned:] WALTER C. RAWLS ******************************************************************************* INVESTMENT BANKER - WALTER C. RAWLS, 69, PHILANTHROPIST, DIES SMITHFIELD - Walter Cecil Rawls, 69, investment banker and philanthropist, died at 6:45 p.m., Saturday at his home, Blueberry Hill, near Smithfield, after a long illness. A native of Southampton County, he settled near Smithfield on his retirement in 1958 from investment business in New York and St. Louis. He is best known in this area for his philanthropies. He founded and endowed the Walter Cecil Rawls Library and Museum at Courtland in Southampton County, now a regional library serving several counties, and also set up the Walter C. Rawls Educational Foundation, which gives college scholarships annually to seniors at high schools in the Suffolk - Smithfield - Franklin area of Virginia and in Gates County, N.C. Rawls, one of 13 children of Annie Cofer and David N. Rawls, was born on a farm near Ivor. During his childhood he was stricken by infantile paralysis, and for the remainder of his life he was partly crippled in both legs. When he was a child his family moved to Suffolk and he was educated in public schools. His first job was that of motion picture projectionist in Suffolk in 1908-09. From 1912 through 1916 he worked in the real estate business, after which he obtained employment as credit investigator for Bankers Trust Co. in New York. In 1921 he went to St. Louis and engaged in investment banking until his return to this area. Rawls returned to Suffolk for a short while, 1929-33, and organized one of the pioneer television manufacturing firms. The depression and the scarcity of transmitting stations caused the business to fail. A pilot model of his television set is now in the Rawls Museum. After retirement, Rawls principal interest was educational philanthropy. He poured about half a million dollars into the library and provided a large trust fund to finance his educational foundation. Rawls often complained of the handicap his meager education gave him in comparison with the businessmen with whom he dealt. He declared that he wished to use a part of his wealth to help educate others in the same modest circumstances in which he was reared. Rawls also was deeply interested in the plight of those who, like him, were handicapped by polio, and he made many unpublicized benefactions to polio victims and organizations. He belonged to the English-Speaking union, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Sons of American Revolution. He was a member of Oakland Christian Church, Chuckatuck, and a former trustee of Elon College. He is survived by his wife, the former Ella Freemen of Gates County, whom he married in 1922; two sons, Dr. Thompson T. Rawls of Pompano Beach, Fla., and Walter C. Rawls, Jr. of Jacksonville, Fla.; two brothers, David A. Rawls of Smithfield and Robert G. Rawls of Norfolk; a sister, Mrs. D.C. Lewis of Lynchburg; and five grandchildren. The body was taken to I.O. Hill & Co. Funeral Home. Funeral arrangements are incomplete. ******************************************************************************* Rawls Funeral To Be Tuesday SUFFOLK - A funeral service for Walter Cecil Rawls, who died Saturday, will be held Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Oakland Christian Church, Chuckatuck, by Rev. Dwight W. Moore, Dr. H.S. Hardcastle and Dr. William T. Scott. Burial will be in St. Lukes Cemetery Isle of Wight County with Elks rites at graveside. The body will be taken from the I.0. Hill and Co. Funeral Home to the church at 3 p.m. Tuesday. ******************************************************************************* Walter C Rawls Funeral Is Held Funeral services for Walter Cecil Rawls Sr., who died Saturday, were conducted Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Oakland Christian Church by the Rev. Dwight D. Moore, pastor, Dr. H.S. Hardcastle of Portsmouth and Dr. W.P. Scott of Elon College, N. C., both former pastors of the Church. Burial was in St. Luke's Memorial Cemetery at Benns Church. Pallbearers were Douglas G. Freeman Sr., Douglas G. Freeman Jr., Richard Edward Freeman, Talmage T. Freeman, Ryland Taliaferro, Boul Ware Taliaferro, Dr. L.H. Rawls Jr., William Henry Sykes Jr., Daniel C. Lewis and George H. Shure. ******************************************************************************* Walter C. Rawls, Philanthropist, Died At His Home, Blueberry Hill Walter Cecil Rawls, 69, investment banker and philanthropist, died at 6:45 p.m. Saturday at his home, Blueberry Hill, near Smithfield, after a long illness. A native of Southampton County, he settled near Smithfield on his retirement in 1956 from investment business in New York and St. Louis. Rawls is best known in this area for his philanthropies. He founded and endowed the Walter Cecil Rawls Library and museum in Southampton County, now a regional library serving several counties, and also set up the Walter C. Rawls Educational Foundation, which gives college scholarships annually to seniors at high schools in the Suffolk-Smithfield-Franklin area of Virginia and in Gates County, N.C. He was one of thirteen children of Annie Cofer and David N. Rawls. He was born on a farm near Ivor and during his childhood was stricken with infantile paralysis, and for the remainder of his life he was partially crippled in both legs. When he was a child his family moved to Suffolk and he was educated in public schools. His first job was that of motion picture projectionist in Suffolk in 1908-09. From 1912 through 1916 he worked in the real estate business, after which he obtained employment as credit investigator for Bankers Trust Co. in New York. In 1921 he went to St. Louis and engaged in investment banking until his return to this area. Rawls returned to Suffolk for a short while, 1929-33, and organized one of the pioneer television manufacturing firms. The depression and the scarcity of transmitting stations caused the business to fail. A pilot model of his television set is now in the Rawls museum. After retirement, Rawls' principal interest was educational philanthropy. He poured about a half a million dollars into the library and provided a large trust fund to finance his educational foundation. He belonged to the English Speaking Union, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Sons of the American Revolution. He was a member of Oakland Christian Church, Chuckatuck, and a former trustee of Elon College. Survivors include his wife, the former Ella Freeman of Gates County, N.C., whom he married in 1922; two sons, Dr. Thompson T. Rawls of Pompano Beach, Fla., and Walter C. Rawls, Jr., of Jacksonville, Fla.: two brothers, David A. Rawls of Smithfield and Robert G. Rawls of Norfolk; a sister, Mrs. D.C. Lewis of Lynchburg; and five grandchildren. A funeral service was conducted Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Oakland Christian Church, Chuckatuck, by Dr. William T. Scott, a former pastor of the church. Burial was in St. Luke's Memorial Cemetery. Walter Cecil RAWLS, Sr., b. 13 Jun 1895, near Ivor, Southampton Co., d. 29 Aug 1964, near Smithfield, interred in St. Luke's Memorial Park*, "Suffolk News-Herald," Vol. 42, No. 208, Aug. 30, 1964, p. 1, col. 2-4; donated obit, publication unknown "Suffolk News-Herald," Vol. 42, No. 209, Aug. 31, 1964, p. 2, col. 4; "Suffolk News-Herald," Vol. 42, No. 211, Sep. 2, 1964, p. 3, col. 3; "Smithfield Times," Vol. 45, No. 36, Sep. 3, 1964; p. 1, col. 5-6 *Isle of Wight County Historical Society {IWCHS} Grave Site Survey Task Force {GSSTF} report #18: http://www.iwchs.com/Cemetery-Reports.html Birthdate from Delayed B.Cert. 1953-846 His parents are buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Suffolk - Block P, Lot 11. Cedar Hill list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/cemeteries/cedar_p.txt His father's obits ("Suffolk News-Herald," Dec. 3 & 6, 1928 & donated) are posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/r420d1ob.txt His mother's obits ("Suffolk News-Herald," donated, & "Smithfield Times," July 1935) are posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/nansemond/obits/r420a5ob.txt The museum was spun off from the library in 1980. Its history is posted at: http://www.rawlsarts.com/p/about.html The library's website: https://www.blackwaterlib.org/courtland/ Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Mrs. Bruce Saunders (bs4403@verizon.net), and re-formatted by File Manager. file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/southampton/obits/r420w2ob.txt