R.C. Rayburn

Mr. R.C. Rayburn, 69, of Manila, formerly of Blytheville, passed from this life Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro. Born in Guin, Ala., he was the son of the late Cleofas and Rena Westbrook Rayburn and had been a longtime Blytheville resident before making his home in Manila seven years ago. He was a 1964 graduate of Blytheville High School and was a retired distribution manager for the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company in Blytheville. He was a Gideon and a member of the Woodland Corner Baptist Church near Gosnell.

He is survived by his wife, Sharon Carter Rayburn of the home;

Two brothers, Chester Rayburn of Cooter, Mo., and Johnny Rayburn of Belle Vista;

Three sisters, Eunice Hadley of Aliso Viejo, Calif., Kathleen Atkinson of Steele, Mo., and Peggy Atkinson of Vernon, Ala.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. today in the Howard Funeral Service Chapel in Manila with the Rev. Mitchell King Sr. and the Rev. Mitchell King Jr. officiating. Burial will follow in the Cain Island Cemetery near Lake City.

Serving as pallbearers will be Mike Hardesty, Billy Joe Hardesty, Donald Owens, George Wright, Bobby Byrum Jr., and Melvin Williams. Honorary pallbearers are past and present members of Woodland Corner Baptist Church: Robert Chambers, Bobby Byrum Sr., Danny Fackler, Travis Deen and Michael Oldham. The family will receive visitors from noon until service time today. Guests may register at www.howardfuneralservice.com