Sussex-Surry County-Petersburg City Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Rives, Sterling E. Jr., 2000 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ STERLING EDWARDS RIVES, JR. Sterling Edwards Rives, Jr., passed away peacefully from this life in the company of his loving family on February 13, 2000 at the age of 78 years. Mr. Rives was born on March 10, 1921 at Oakland in Surry County, Va., to Sterling Edwards and Ruth Bailey Rives. He graduated from Dendron High School in 1939 and assumed responsibility for farming Oakland after the death of his father in 1940. Mr. Rives served in the Army at the close of World War II and spent a year building airfields in Manilla after the war. After his discharge in 1946, he returned to Wakefield, Va., where he met Virginia Anne Rogers whom he married on September 29, 1950. Mr. Rives worked as an inspector for USDA, traveling with his wife and newborn son throughout the Southeast grading peanuts, potatoes and produce until they moved to Petersburg where he began his career in the automotive business in 1955. Mr. Rives was a sales representative for Master Chevrolet in Petersburg from 1956 until his retirement in 1990. Mr. Rives was an active member of Christ and Grace Episcopal Church in Petersburg where he served as a member of the Vestry and two years as Junior Warden. He was honored to have served on the search committee that selected the current rector, Rev. David Teschner. Mr. Rives was an active member of the Republican Party, serving as the Petersburg Chairman from 1973 to 1983 on the State Central Committee, and as a delegate to four national conventions. He was a delegate to the White House Council on Aging in 1981 and has served as vice-chairmen of the Petersburg Electoral Board since 1994. Mr. Rives is survived by his devoted wife of 49 years; his three sons, Sterling III, Andrew II and Bailey; his granddaughter, Brooke; and grandsons, Sterling IV and Henry. A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 16, 2000 at Christ and Grace Episcopal Church in Petersburg, after which the family will receive friends in the Parrish Hall of the church. Interment will follow at Wakefield Methodist Church Cemetery. [sic*] In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Christ and Grace Episcopal Church Building Fund, 1545 S. Sycamore St., Petersburg, Va. 23805 or the charity of your choice. Services provided by the Petersburg Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home. Sterling Edwards RIVES, Jr., of Petersburg, retired car salesman, former USDA inspector, Army veteran of WW-II, b. 10 Mar 1921, Oakland, Surry Co., d. 13 Feb 2000, Henrico Co., marked in Wakefield Cemetery*, J.T. Morrison & Son Funeral Home obit *His father (1884-1940) made be buried there. Wakefield list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/cemeteries/wakefd.txt His mother (1894-1981) is buried in Southlawn Memorial Park, Prince George Co. His widow's (donated, 2019) obit is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/sussex/obits/r120v1ob.txt 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/sussex/obits/r120s1ob.txt