Jessie W. Vest Jr.

Jessie W. Vest Jr.

Jessie Walter Vest Jr., 82, of Alderson, West Virginia, formerly of Afton, Virginia, passed away on Sunday morning, April 17, 2011, at his home in Alderson, of natural causes.

He was born on September 7, 1928, in Afton, Virginia, the son of the late Jessie W. and Helen Goff Vest. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Charles Jeffery Vest; two brothers, Johnny Vest and Fred Vest; and two sisters, Annie Thurnau and Kenever Vest.

Mr. Vest was a retired railroad lineman, having retired from the C&O Railroad after 38 years of service. He was a member of the Rupert Church of God in Rupert, West Virginia.

Mr. Vest was an avid hunter and fisherman.

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Clara Jane Canfield Vest of Alderson, West Virginia; five children, Jessie W. Vest III and his wife, Trish, of Camp Creek, West Virginia, Mike Gills and his wife, Janet, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, Lawana Vest of Spencer, West Virginia, Ruth Kelly Vest of Ripley, West Virginia, and Jane Vest Bryant and her husband, George, of Alderson, West Virginia; a brother, Lee Vest of Waynesboro, Virginia; two sisters, Margaret Dameron of Waynesboro, Virginia, and Lucille Buttner and her husband, Frank, of Charlottesville, Virginia; 27 grandchildren, 47 great- grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.

Graveside services and burial will be 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, 2011, at the Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery in Afton, Virginia, with the Reverend Frank Jones officiating.

Friends and family may call from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, 2011, at the Rupert Church of God in Rupert, West Virginia.

Serving as pallbearers will be Michael Richmond Jr., Shawn LaFleur, Joe King, Charles LaFleur, Steve Perkins Jr., Nathan Brackenridge, Riley Bryant, and Christopher Vest.

Serving as honorary pallbearer will be Jessie W. Vest IV.

Arrangements by Lobban Funeral Home, Alderson, West Virginia.


This obituary was originally published in the News Virginian.