Raymond F. Willeford Jr., of Charleston, South Carolina, entered into eternal rest on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. He was predeceased in 2009 by his wife of 66 years, Muriel Humphreys Willeford.
Mr. Willeford was born Jan. 6, 1921, in Charlotte, North Carolina, the son of Raymond F. Willeford and Lucilla Lee Willeford, of Charleston, South Carolina. He was a 1938 graduate of Porter Military Academy in Charleston, South Carolina, and a 1942 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce and a major in accounting.
He served as a line officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve in several command billets, retiring in 1981 with the rank of captain.
For several years he was an agent in South Carolina with the U.S. Treasury Department. In 1955 he received a certified public accountant certificate from the state of North Carolina.
From 1955-1981 he was associated with the Charleston Naval Shipyard as head of the Internal Review Division and as director of the Data Processing Office. In 1981 he retired from the shipyard and associated with the accounting firm of Jones, Pounder and Associates in Charleston, South Carolina. He retired from this firm in 1991.
After his retirement from the Charleston Naval Shipyard in 1981, Raymond became a part-time resident of Harpswell, Maine. During his stays in Harpswell, he enjoyed playing bridge, tennis and sailing.
Raymond was a former vestry member and warden of the Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston and then treasurer, and a vestry member and warden, of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Charleston. He was a member of the South Carolina Genealogical Society, the South Carolina Historical Society, the Huguenot Society of South Carolina, the Sons of the American Revolution and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Francis W. Carlisle, of Charleston, South Carolina.
He is survived by a daughter, Wendy Collis Willeford, of Houston, Texas; a son, Raymond F. Willeford III, of Highlands, North Carolina; two granddaughters, Kathryn “Kate” Willeford, of Harpswell; and Kathleen “Katy” Shack, of Johns Creek, Georgia; and four great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Anglican Church, P.O. Box 30476, Charleston, SC 29417; Bishop Gadsden Residents’ Assistance Fund, 1873 Camp Road, Charleston, SC; or to the charity of one’s choice.
Services will be private.
