Benjamin Franklin Shearwood

SHEARWOOD, Benjamin Franklin "B.F.," 86, of Wytheville, died Tuesday, August 5, 2008. He was born April 12, 1922, in Tappahan-nock, Va., to the late Charles Walton Shearwood and Annette Duke Shearwood. He attended high school in Tappahannock and college in Memphis, Tenn. He was a World War II veteran. Frank was a member of Wytheville Baptist Church and was superintendent of Sunday School for several years, and also Treasurer of his Sunday School class. He was a member of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the 40 & 8. His many Masonic affiliations included the Wytheville Fraternal Masonic Lodge #82, AF & AM, member and past High Priest of Wytheville Royal Arch Chapter, Past Commander of Lynn Commandery #9, Knights Templar, Marion, Va. In 1988 he was elevated to the position of Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar of Virginia. He was a member of several Appendant York Rite Masonic bodies over which many of these he presided. He worked for L.A. Clark and Sons, Inc. and Bareford Bros. Lumber Company, both located in Tappahannock, Va. He worked for the Virginia State Police, Bureau of Criminal Investigation for 31 years before his retirement. He was preceded in death by five sisters and one brother. He is survived by his wife, who he married in 1959, Beatrice Shearwood, of Wytheville; two sisters, Annette Badger and Ellen Puckett, both of Richmond; and several nieces and nephews who were very special to him. Memorial services were held Friday, August 8.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.