Neill Rayford

lengthy and courageous battle with cancer. He was born on January 15, 1938 in Arp,

Texas to P. S. and Lucille Neill Rayford. Neill loved the Lord and he was a loving husband,

father and grandfather.

Neill is survived by his beloved wife of 45 years Donna, daughter Lonna Rayford Britt

and husband Kyle, son Phonso Jerry Rayford and wife Jodie, son Gary Neill Rayford and

wife Shonda; 9 grandchildren; Brandon and Kimberly Britt, Jeremy and Cristen Britt,

Adam and Whitney Britt, Natalie and Robert Palombi, Zackary Rayford, Brittni Rayford,

Blake Laney, Kinsley Laney and Jaxon Rayford; 5 great grand daughters and a great

grandson due in August; sister-in-law Helen Craft and husband Howard, sister-in-law

Bobbie Abbott and sister-in-law Linda Walker and husband Floyd and numerous nieces,

nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents P. S. and Lucille Neill

Rayford.

Neill graduated from Tyler High School in 1956 and earned a Bachelor of Science in

Business from Stephen F. Austin while on active duty in the United States Air Force. He

was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1967 and later earned a Masters of Arts

in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University. Neill enjoyed fishing, boxing

and spending time with family and friends. He was a 6 time Texas Golden Glove

Champion between 1954 and 1959. He worked for the Texas Department of Criminal

Justice for 36 years in the Correctional Industries Division. Neill held many positions

during his time with the agency which involved the areas of records conversion, plant

management and TCI sales. He ended his tenure as the Special Programs Division

Manager of the Offender Work and Training Program. This program and the success of

it were very close to his heart. Neill's military and educational background and his belief

in people and rehabilitation were the impetus behind his drive and work ethic. In 1981 he

became the first employee of the IDCJ Industry Division to receive the Correctional

Industries Association Award for Supervisory Excellence and in 2004 he received agency

(IDCJ) Leadership Award.

A special thank you to the following staff of Grace Visiting Nurses and Home Health

Services for their compassionate care and support: Melissa Flores,

Susie Gordon and Glenn Conner. Also a heartfelt thank you to the following staff of

Heart to Heart Hospice for their compassionate care and support: Melissa Rawlinson,

Courtney Holland, Tonja Newman and Janet Duhon. The family would like to thank the

following doctors for their compassionate care and support: Dr. Anna Aparicio of MD

Anderson in Houston, Texas, Dr. Sidney Chadwell in Palestine, Texas, Dr. Glenn Dundas

in Palestine, Texas and Dr. Taskar ofUT Health Center in Tyler, Texas. To all of our

family and friends who provided much strength and support, we are deeply grateful.

Visitation will be from 6-8pm, Friday, July 26, 2013 at Lloyd James Funeral Horne in Tyler,

Funeral services will be at Lloyd James Funeral Home on Saturday, July 27, 2013 at 11:00 A.M.,

with Pastor James Featherstone of Calvary Baptist Church in Huntsville officiating. Burial will follow

at Bascom Cemetery in Tyler, Texas.

Serving as pallbearers will be Mike Canant, Craig Craft, Earl Curry, Mike Hall, John Katambami,

and Robert Laake. Honorary pallbearer is Bob Stoudt.