Robert H. Rayfield

Robert was born Oct. 2, 1930, in Hale County, Alabama, to Carl and Eva Rayfield.

He graduated from Akron High School in Hale County in 1948 and went to work for the Dairy Fresh milk company.

Robert joined the U.S. Air Force in September 1950 and served until his honorable discharge in September 1954, having attained the rank of technical staff sergeant in the Strategic Air Command. He served in the Air Force as a officer in the Air Police division and was stationed for much of his military career at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, but also spent time at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Florida; Parks Air Force Base in Dublin, California; and Goose Bay, Labrador, Canada. He was awarded with a Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

Robert returned to Dairy Fresh until moving to Jackson in 1956 with his wife, Mary Lou.

In Jackson, Robert worked for Southern Bell as a lineman and advanced to the assignment office – where he also worked as a supervisor – before retiring as a field engineer in 1986 from BellSouth. Following his retirement, he was a contract engineer with Baker Engineering. He spent the last 20 years working with TIPS Inc. and Linear Power.Robert and Mary Lou were longtime members of Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson before moving to Rankin County in 1994 and joining First Baptist Church in Brandon. Robert was a longtime deacon at Calvary Baptist and served for a period as chairman of the deacons. He was a member of the choir at both churches and loved to sing.Robert was a member of the Telephone Pioneers of America. He enjoyed collecting coins.

He was preceded in death on Jan. 25, 2014, by Mary Lou Stephens Rayfield, his wife of 62 years.

Robert was also preceded in death by his parents and all nine of his siblings, among whom he was the youngest.

Survivors include son Robert S. “Ray” Rayfield and numerous nieces and nephews.Visitation is 2:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 and 1-2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21 at Lakewood Funeral Home on Clinton Boulevard in Jackson. Services are at 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21 at the funeral home. Burial will be in Lakewood Memorial Park.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 175 Boyce Thompson Drive, Brandon MS 39042 or a charity of choice.

Pallbearers for the service are: John Neal, James Walker, Herman Smith Jr., Josh Sharp, Ben Kelly, Erik Jolly, Honorary pallbearers are Keith Pierce, Stephen Carnahan and Micheal Flanagan. Special thanks to the Patriot Guard and the Military for their services.