Roy Alfred Rakestraw

Funeral will be 2:00 p.m. Sunday at Collier-Butler Chapel for Mr. Roy Alfred Rakestraw, 91 of Gadsden. He passed away Wednesday, February 25, 2015 in Rock Hill, SC. Rev. Roger Collins and Rev. Larry Garrard will officiate. Burial will be in Rainbow Memorial Park. Collier-Butler Funeral Home and Cremation Service will be in charge.

Mr. Rakestraw was born June 20, 1923 in Attalla, AL to John Thomas and Carrie Rakestraw.

He was preceded in death by his daughter, Peggy Rakestraw Adkison, and his wife of 64 years, Francis Juanita Stover Rakestraw.

Mr. Rakestraw loved the Lord and lived a life of quiet strength and integrity. He was a longtime member of Walnut Park Baptist Church and the fellowship of the Men’s Sunday School Class. He was a skilled carpenter, and was often able to share his faith in God while on the job. Mr. Rakestraw was a World War II veteran. He served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946. He was lovingly known to his grand and great-grandchildren as PawPaw, to his nephews and nieces as Uncle “Alford,” to his many friends as Roy and R.A., and to his brothers and sisters who have all gone on before him, as Cub. Regardless of which name we knew him by, we all knew him as honest, kind, and as strong and dependable as an oak.

He is survived by his son, Dr. Donald Allen Rakestraw and daughter-in-law, Dr. Jennie Finlayson Rakestraw. He has three granddaughters, Dawn Adkison Brickhouse (Jeff), Charity Rakestraw Carney, and Emily Foster Rakestraw Hays (Phillip); and four great-grandchildren, Melody, Daniel, and Jared Brickhouse, and Thomas Hays. His close family also included a sister-in-law, Joyce Stover Patton, who was like a little sister; a nephew, Hugh Don (Van) Camp who grew up like a little brother; a son-in-law, John Thomas Adkison and a nephew, Orlan (Peanut) Rakestraw, who he loved like sons.

Pallbearers will be Phillip Hays, Daniel Brickhouse, Jared Brickhouse, Jay Rakestraw, David Finlayson, and Wes Elrod.

Flowers will be accepted but donations would be preferred. You may send your gift to the National Parkinson’s Foundation at Gift Processing Center, PO Box 5018, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5018, or online at National Parkinson Foundation - Rakestraw

A special thanks is extended to Drs. Hoitink, Sherry Simmers, and Mark Porter and to the staffs of Brookdale Place and Agape Hospice for their love and kindness through the last miles of the journey home. We were blessed to have had you care for our loved one.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 on Saturday evening at Collier-Butler Chapel.