Doris June Raffield Seay

1927 - 2022

Doris June Raffield Seay

BIG STONE GAP, Va.

Doris June Raffield Seay, age 94, passed away on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. June was born in Graphite, N.C., on May 9, 1927. The Seay family lived adventurous lives as they moved across the South for her late husband Jim's job with the Southern Railway System and eventually settled in Big Stone Gap, Va.

June was a devout Christian and a member of the First Baptist Church of Big Stone Gap. She was an avid lover of her cats and of nature spending much of her free time studying and admiring the flowers and birds that also called the mountains home. As the Seay family moved and grew, June's heart remained in the Western North Carolina mountains, where she will be laid to rest next to her husband of 58 years.

June was preceded in death by her parents, Rans Lowe and Myrtle Peace Raffield; husband, James Jesse "Jim" Seay; and sister, Carrie Raffield Genetti.

She is survived by three sons, James Jonathan Seay, III and wife, Darlene, of Chattanooga, Tenn., Joseph Mitchell Seay and wife, Debbie, of Killen, Ala., and Jeff Seay and wife, Tina, of Duffield, Va.; two daughters, Mary Bethany Seay Allen and husband, Mike, of Big Stone Gap, Va., and Rebecca Ann Seay Matney and husband, John, of Bristol, Va.; grandchildren, Daniel Seay and wife, Amy, Jennifer Seay, Andrew Seay and wife, Rachel, Lindsey Seay, Lauren Allen Mottern and husband, Tyler, John Michael Allen and wife, Toy, Benjamin Barker and wife, Amelia, and Joshua Barker and wife, Meagan; and nine great-grandchildren, Caroline, Annalise, Elizabeth, and Emalia Seay, Sarah Seay, Arri and Rebecca Mottern, Abram and Charlotte Barker.

A celebration of life will be conducted at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 2, 2022, at Brookside Missionary Baptist Church, 126 Graphite Road, Old Fort, N.C., with Daniel Seay officiating. Interment will follow in Mountain View Memorial Park, 392 Tabernacle Road, Black Mountain, N.C., with Daniel Seay, Andrew Seay, Benjamin Barker, Joshua Barker, John Michael Allen, and Tyler Mottern serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Justin Matney, Brandon Matney, Mike Allen, John Matney, James Scoles, Donnie Grindstaff, Doug Grindstaff, Dan Grindstaff, Joe Frohbose, and John Brooks.

In lieu of flowers, June's family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Wise County Humane Society, P.O. Box 744, Norton, VA 24273, in June's name. The family would like to extend special thanks to the staff of English Meadows for the care provided to June over the past year.

Those wishing to express sympathy online may do so by visiting www.farrisfuneralservice.com and signing the online guest register. The family of Doris June Raffield Seay is being cared for by Farris Funeral Service and Crematory, 427 East Main Street, Abingdon, VA 24210, (276) 623-2700.