John Rixey

John F. Rixey VIRGINIA BEACH - John F. Rixey of 700 Oriole Drive passed away at home with his family present May 31, 2008. Mr. Rixey was born in Norfolk, Oct. 15, 1926, to James Barbour Rixey and Elizabeth Cornick Rixey. Mr. Rixey attended Norfolk public schools and graduated from Woodberry Forest School in 1944. He attended the University of Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1951. Upon graduation from law school, he practiced law in Norfolk and Virginia Beach for more than 50 years. Mr. Rixey served in the Naval Reserve from 1945-1946 receiving an honorable discharge. Mr. Rixey was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates and served from 1954-1959. He was president of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in 1972 and was a former vice president of the Virginia State Chamber of Commerce. He was also a former chairman of the Board of Directors of First National Bank of Norfolk, which later became Dominion Bank Shares Corp. where he served on the Board of Directors. Mr. Rixey was a former member of both the Board of Directors of the Industrial Development Authority for Norfolk and the Norfolk Economic Development Council. He was a former member of the State Council of Higher Education of Virginia. Mr. Rixey was a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association and the American Trial Lawyers Association. He also was a former member of the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the International Association of Insurance Counsel. He was a former president of The Norfolk Forum, a former president of the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club and a former president and founder of the Tidewater Tennis Center Inc. Jack Rixey was an accomplished athlete, having been a seven-time Norfolk City Tennis Champion and former Virginia State Tennis Doubles Champion as well playing for the University of Virginia tennis team in the late 1940s. Jack was instrumental in the organization of the Norfolk Neptunes professional football team and Virginia Squires professional basketball team of the former ABA. He was also an avid supporter of the University of Virginia athletic program and the Virginia Athletic Foundation. He is survived by his wife of 35 years, Emily Sheffield Rixey and three children, J. Barbour Rixey and wife Louise, John F. Rixey Jr. and wife Celeste and Maria Rixey Gamper and husband Richard; stepdaughter, Styron Schafer Daniels and husband Raymond; and stepson, William John Schafer Jr. Mr. Rixey is also survived by his sister, Anne Rixey Ruffin and husband Dr. Willcox Ruffin, as well as nine grandchildren and four stepgrandchildren. Mr. Rixey was preceded in death by his son, Thomas Cornick Rixey, in 1986. Services for Mr. Rixey will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach with interment to follow in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk. Arrangements have been made by H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments, Laskin Road Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach, or a charity of your choice. A special thanks to all of the Heartland Hospice caregivers and to Reuben Williams.