Dunford, Roy Herman
Roy Herman Dunford, 94, of 118 Dunford Lane in Newport, departed this life Thursday evening, December 6, 2007 at Riverview Nursing Home in Rich Creek.
Born in Giles County on January 22, 1913, he was a son of the late Charles and Nancy Vance Dunford. He was retired from Poly-Scientific in Blacksburg. His real life’s work was farming his land and raising beef cattle in Newport, the old fashioned way, with horses, as he never invested in a tractor. An accomplished horseman, he drove the sleigh for Mt. Lake Hotel after his retirement and served as their blacksmith when he was younger.
He was a member of the Wagon Train Club in Montgomery County and a Riding Club member. He was especially proud of his favorite horse “Trigger”, who he rode every day until the snow was too deep. Roy was an avid gardener, raising and preserving his own produce and was devoted to his flower garden, especially his roses and zinnias. He delighted in coon hunting and out walking younger men climbing up the mountains.
He was preceded in death by his first wife and mother of his children, Mary Wingo Dunford; his second wife, Hattie Anderson Lilly Dunford; his parents; three children, Fairy Nan Dunford, Mary Dee Dunford and Leeroy William Dunford; six brothers, Mason, Raymond, Paul, Carl, Vance and Joseph Dunford and three sisters Margie Clark, Fannie Ricco and Emma Lafon.
He leaves to cherish his memory, a daughter and son-in-law, Gale and Ralph E. Williams, of Hoges Chapel at Pembroke; a stepson and his wife, James and Susanna Lilly, of Newport; a sister, Virginia Hylton, of Princeton, W.Va.; two grandchildren, Jimmy Williams and Autumn Lilly; special nieces and caregivers, Betty Browning, Sandra Stafford and Carolyn Mullins; several special nephews and many good friends.
Funeral service will be conducted 2 p.m., Sunday December 9, 2007, at the Kendall Funeral Home, 605 Snidow Street, Pembroke, with burial following in the Price Cemetery near his Newport home. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. Online condolences may be sent by visiting www.kendallfuneralhome.com.