Wilbur Rakestraw, Sr

Wilbur Carlton Rakestraw, Sr., age 85, of Dallas, GA, passed away Wednesday, May 7, 2014. The son of the late, Virgil Raymond Rakestraw & the late, Kate Kincaid Rakestraw, he was born in Mountain View, GA, on June 6, 1928. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lutitia “Tish” Ragsdale Rakestraw and his brothers, Donald Rakestraw and Bernarr Rakestraw. Mr. Rakestraw graduated from Hiram High School in 1945. He joined the Merchant Marines on June 6, 1945 on his 17th birthday and then joined the Navy in 1951, serving during the Korean Conflict. After serving in the military he worked at Joe Jones Ford where he began his racing career. Mr. Rakestraw had 30 starts at 19 tracks, including the last beach race in Daytona in the Nascar Grand National Division from 1956 to 1961. He started in three Daytona 500 races from 1959 to 1961 and also raced in the Nascar Convertible Series Events in 1958 and 1959. He was inducted into the Georgia Automobile Racing Hall of Fame in 2008. After his racing career he owned the Amoco Service Station in Dallas, GA, continued to work for Joe Jones Ford, was a mobile home salesman for Charles Hardy, and was the shop foreman for Aiken Grading, before retiring in 1993. Mr. Rakestraw was a Shriner, a member of the Bartlett Masonic Lodge #139 for over 50 years, and a longtime member of Poplar Springs Baptist Church.
Survivors include his wife, Doris Clay Rakestraw; children, W. Carlton Rakestraw, Jr. & wife, Paulette of Dallas, GA, Cathy Barnette & husband, Terry of Dallas, GA, and Clay Rakestraw & partner Steven Kopelman of Chattahoochee Hills, GA; step-son, Tom Baxter & wife, Melody of Dallas, GA; sisters & brother-in-law, Mary Shipp of Dallas, GA, Betty Aiken of Dallas, GA, Harlow Otwell of Austell, GA , and Linda Strickland & husband, Russell of Dallas, GA; sister-in-law, Stephanie Rakestraw of Dallas, GA; grandchildren, Wil Rakestraw (Ashley), Allen Rakestraw (Brooke), Ansley Hitchcock, Grant Baxter and Brett Baxter; great-grandchildren, Wade Rakestraw, Ashton Rakestraw, Warner Rakestraw, and Kensley Rakestraw; numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 9, 2014, at 2:00 PM, from Clark Funeral, with Reverend Thomas Cole officiating. Interment will follow in Paulding Memorial Gardens, with military honors. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday, May 8, 2014, from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM, and on Friday, May 9, 2014, from 11:00 AM until the service time.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to: Poplar Springs Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 738 Peg Cole Ridge Trail, Villa Rica, GA 30180 or Georgia Racing Hall of Fame Museum, P. O. Box 1561, Dawsonville, GA 30534.
Clark Funeral Home in Hiram, GA, is in charge of arrangements. (www.samclarkfuneralhome.com)

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