William Freal Rhudy III

  Noted events in his life were:

• Census: Grayson Co, VA - 1930 Federal Census, 29 Apr 1930, Grayson Co, VA. ⁶ Elk Creek, Dist 1, Sheet 12B, Stamped Pg 95

• Obituary: Grayson Co., VA. William Freel (Bill) Rhudy Jr., 80, of Elk Creek, Virginia, passed peacefully from this life to the next at his home on October 7, 2010. Born to William Freel Rhudy and Laura Freece Delp Rhudy, on January 5, 1930, he was their fifth child and only son. Survivors include his wife, Mary Elizabeth "Libby" Ring Rhudy; daughter and son-in-law, Mary Ellen Rhudy and Douglas Vaught; grandchildren, Sarah, Zachary and James Vaught; special caregiver, Abby Gail Vaughn; and several nieces and nephews. Bill attended Elk Creek High School and graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1952. His service in the VPI Corps of Cadets resulted in a commission in the United States Army where he served as an artillery officer in Texas and Virginia during the Korean conflict. After a short period of working as an Extension Agent with VPI, Bill returned to Elk Creek and worked for many years as a field representative for various dairy cooperatives that later consolidated into Dairymen, Incorporated. He was a member of Lebanon United Methodsit Church and the Independence, Virginia Masonic Lodge #129, A.F. & A.M. having joined the Lodge on January 3, 1951. He was also a life member of the National Rifle Association. Bill was an avid hunter and gunsmith, noted for crafting muzzle-loading rifles, and a lifelong collector of, and lecturer on, Native American Artifacts. He enjoyed giving demonstrations of the early American way of life and firing his muzzle-loading rifles to the fascination of on-lookers. A service of Celebration of Bill's life will be held on Sunday, October 10, 2010, at 2 p.m. at the Lebanon United Methodist Church, Comers Rock Road, Elk Creek, Va. with the Rev. John Duvall officiating. Friends will be able to visit with the family at the church following the service. Masonic Last Rites will be administered by Lodge #129, A.F & A.M. A private interment will be held later at the Independence Cemetery, Independence, Virginia.

William married Mary Elisabeth Ring on 11 Aug 1951 in Grayson Co., VA.¹ (Mary Elisabeth Ring was born on 4 Oct 1923 in Grayson Co., VA ⁴ and died on 31 May 2016 in Galax City, VA ⁴.)