Thomas (Rudolph) Poole, a resident of Virginia Beach, Virginia, formerly of Belhaven, North Carolina, passed away on March 22, 2019 at home at the age of 95 years. He was born March 17, 1924 in Ransomville, NC to Mabel and Thomas Randolph Poole.
Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 72 years, Idar Poole; daughter, Norma Christenson and husband Steve; son, Thomas Poole, Jr. and wife Brenda; daughter, Dorita McKeel; daughter, Karen Cash and cousin Kelley Keech; seven grandchildren, Stephen Christenson, Daniel Christenson, Richard Poole, Kimberly Riggs, Amy Cuccorillo, Kristen Galuszka and Jessica McKeel; eight great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and brother, Herbert Poole and wife Naomi; many nieces and nephews and two special companions, Rusty and Hobo.
Rudolph served during World War II and had advanced infantry training for the invasion of Japan. He retired from the Naval Supply Center, Norfolk, VA, as a Material Control Supervisor in 1982. Rudolph was a former contractor, building custom built homes in the Tidewater Virginia area. He and his wife relocated to Belhaven, NC in 1982 and resided there until January of 2019. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, and telling stories of the old days.
Rudolph was very active in his church at Indian River Baptist, serving as a deacon and serving on the bus ministry. He was an active member at Belhaven Missionary Baptist Church. Rudolph loved the Lord and always looked for ways to tell others about his relationship with Jesus Christ. Rudolph was loved by his friends and family. He was a man that loved to grow crops to share with others and he was always ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. He loved his children and grandchildren and was very active in their lives.
The family would like to give a special thank you to Liz and Elsa from Kindred Hospice for their compassion, support and Rudolph’s excellent care.
The funeral service will be held at Woodlawn Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens, 6329 E. Virginia Beach Boulevard, Norfolk, VA 23502 on Tuesday, March 26th at 12:00 p.m. with visitation immediately following. Officiating the services will be Senior Pastor David Pierce of Belhaven Missionary Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Belhaven Missionary Baptist Church, 251 Edward Street, Belhaven, NC 27810.
