Joseph Benjamin Rawls

RAWLS ORIENTAL, NC - Joseph Benjamin Rawls, 86, of Oriental, N.C., formerly of Winston-Salem, died Jan. 24. A memorial service will be held Sat., Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. at Oriental United Methodist Church, Oriental, N.C. Mr. Rawls was born March 13, 1924, in Forsyth County to Eben Turner Rawls and Lillian Hawkins Rawls. He graduated from Reynolds High School and attended The Citadel in the fall of 1942. He served three years in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII as a control tower operator. In 1949, he graduated from N.C. State University with a degree in engineering. He worked briefly in the family business, Rawls Delicious Foods, in Winston-Salem, and then for Western Electric Company for 32 years. He was a past member of Centenary United Methodist Church. In 1986, Mr. Rawls moved to Pamlico County. He served on the Board of Health for nine years and was chairman for two years. He was a past member of the Oriental Rotary Club and a member of the Oriental United Methodist Church. He is survived by one sister, five children, two step-children, 15 grandchildren and three great grand-children.