Lenoir Rabun Garnett

Lenoir Rabun (Milstead) Garnett

Lenoir Rabun (Milstead) Garnett, 94, passed away on Sunday, March 30, 2025, and is now peacefully with her Heavenly Father.

Lenoir, the only girl in a family of seven boys, spent the first twenty-five years of her life in Valdosta, Georgia, where she attended local schools and Valdosta State University. In 1956, she moved with her first husband, Ben, to the Washington, D.C. area, and in the same year, began working for Arlington County Public Schools in various positions. Lenoir had a rewarding career in the school system until her retirement from Yorktown High School Media Center in 1985. She and Ben continued to live in the D.C. area until 2002 when they moved to Winchester, VA.

In 2008, she moved to Westminster Canterbury in Winchester until relocating to Fredericksburg in 2010. Lenoir had a deep and personal faith in God from a young age and was a dedicated member of The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg. Lenoir met her second husband, Richard, and they were married in Fredericksburg on February 6, 2010. Over the years, Lenoir, Richard, and their family spent many happy hours at their home in the mountains at Yellow Spring, West Virginia. She and Richard continued to enjoy a very happy life there.

Survivors include her husband, J. Richard Garnett, Jr.; one brother, Dickey Plowden Rabun of Highland Ranch, CO; a number of nieces and nephews who she loved dearly, she was especially close to niece, Jo Anne Rabun Smith; stepchildren who were very dear to her, Susan Garnett Spears (Richard) and Stephen Garnett (Elizabeth); and step-grandchildren, Joseph Allen Garnett and Sarah Elizabeth Garnett.

She was preceded in death by her first husband, George Benjamin Milstead; parents, Emmie Plowden Rabun and Zachary Taylor Rabun of Valdosta, GA; and six brothers.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A second visitation will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 4, with the service beginning at 11 a.m. at the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Memorial donations may be made to The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg (810 Princess Anne St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401) or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (501 St. Jude’s Pl., Memphis, TN 38105).

Online guest book is available at covenantfuneralservice.com.