Alan Rader

Alan B. Rader VIRGINIA BEACH - Alan Burl Rader, 61, a native of and former resident of Franklin, Va., was killed in a tragic hunting accident while doing what he loved best, the morning of Saturday, April 24, 2010 at the Flag Tale Hunt Club near Drewryville, Va. He had been a respected member and former board member of the club for 20 years. Alan, who was most recently residing with his brother and sister-in-law, Sid and Vicki Rader, was the son of the late Ecil Burl and Ann Elizabeth Turner Rader of Franklin. Alan had most recently retired from the United States Postal Service where he had worked in Monroe, La., and Virginia Beach. He was a 1966 graduate of Franklin High School and attended Chowan Junior College, where he received an associate's degree in 1969. While at Chowan, Alan pitched for the school's baseball team, a continuation of his love for the sport in high school. He then entered the U.S. Air Force and served tours of duty in remote Alaska and Turkey. Upon leaving the Air Force with the rank of technical staff sergeant in December of 1980, he completed his bachelor's degree in liberal arts at Northeast Louisiana University in 1982. Before joining the postal service, he worked several years for IBM as a service technician. In 1991, he received a transfer with the postal service to relocate to Virginia Beach to be near his parents, who were in declining health. Alan was an avid hunter, having learned to practice and enjoy the sport, tutored and nurtured by his father, Ecil, on many hunting trips to the Bronco Rod and Hunt Club in Franklin. Alan also enjoyed the sport of fishing and loved the thrill of the catch. He leaves behind many citation bass and hunting trophies to document his love for these sports. Alan had just completed a water safety course with his brother so that the two could begin enjoying the salt water boat that they had recently purchased together. Alan is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Kristy and James Meadows and their three daughters, Megan, Samantha and Olivia of Seattle, Wash.; and his son, Adam Rader of Los Angeles. Alan was preceded in death by his infant son, Chad Alan Rader. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Sid "Sidney" and Vicki Rader, their daughter, Jennifer, and son-in-law, Dylan Dausch, their daughters Alyssa and Camille of Fairfax County, Virginia, their son John McKain and his fiancé Josie Quinn of Los Angeles; and Vicki's mother, Doris Cunningham of Virginia Beach. He is also survived by a half sister, Ramona Sawyer and her children and grandchildren of Plymouth, N.C., and Charlestown, S.C., as well as his half sister-in-law, Peggy Rader, also of Plymouth. He was preceded in death by his half brother, Howard Rader, formerly of West Virginia and Plymouth. Alan is also survived by numerous cousins in Franklin and a vast array of friends in the Virginia Beach and Franklin area. Services will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 1, in the chapel of Wright Funeral Home, Franklin, with the Rev. Jim Wilkes officiating. Interment will follow in Poplar Spring Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service and suggests memorials be made to Meals on Wheels of Virginia Beach, 3750 Sentara Way, Virginia Beach, VA 23452. Following the service, friends and family are invited to a celebration of Alan's life at Fred's Restaurant on Main Street in Franklin. Condolences may be sent to the Rader family at www.wrightfuneralhome.org or posted to Sid Rader's wall on Facebook. The family wishes to express their deepest appreciation to Joey Holland, one of Alan's closest friends, who was at the scene of the accident and administered first aid, comfort, and support to Alan at the time of his passing.