Walter Rufus Massey Jr.

Walter Rufus Massey, Jr., born September 3, 1934 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, passed peacefully to Heaven on May 23, 2019, at his home in Disputanta, VA. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sylvia Osmundson Massey; a brother, Robert “Buck” Massey (Charlotte); 2 sisters, Peggy McKinney and Sue Eley; 3 daughters, Tammy Buffkin (Dave), Cindy Mackiewicz (Mitch), Mary Herald (Timmy); 8 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. Walter or “Stick”, grew up in Petersburg, and graduated from PHS in 1951. He played baseball for PHS and was recently inducted into the Petersburg Athletic Hall of Fame for being the first student offered a baseball contract to play ball with the White Sox Minor League team! He also served the USA in the US Army Signal Corps. from February 1957 to February 1959. He later worked for C & P Telephone Company as a lineman, installer, and lineman foreman and retired in 1991. He was a member of the Optimist Club, and Monumental Baptist Church where he taught a boys Sunday School class, served as a deacon, and played on the church baseball team. He and his family moved to Prince George County and joined Trinity United Methodist Church, where he was active in the Methodist Men and PG Ruritans. Among the many trips enjoyed by his wife and himself, his favorite was to Israel where they walked the paths that Jesus walked. He will be greatly missed by family and friends, and may his life reflect to the ones that knew him God’s love and kindness. The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at the Petersburg Chapel of J.T. Morriss & Son Funeral Home. A funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Southlawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the PG Emergency Crew, P.O. Box 308, Prince George, VA 23875, or to Trinity United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 147 Disputanta, VA 23842. Condolences may be registered at www.jtmorriss.com .