Donald E. Benefield
(WEDOWEE) Donald E. Benefield, 79, of Wedowee died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at his home after a courageous battle with cancer.
Funeral services will be Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. at Benefield Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Greg Norred officiating. Burial with military honors will follow at Wedowee City Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday.
Don began serving his country in July 1953 when he joined the Alabama Air National Guard during the Korean War. He graduated from Randolph County High School, a member of the Class of 1954. After graduation he went to work at Hunter-Allen-Myhand Funeral Home in LaGrange until January 1955 when he entered the U.S. Air Force, where he served as a member of the Air Police. His duties included patrolling the flight line, runways and entrance gates onto the base. Most of his tour he was stationed at Homestead Air Force Base in South Florida. Don went on to get his degree in mortuary science in 1962 from the Dallas Institute-Gupton Jones in Dallas, Texas. He worked as a funeral director/manager for Kraeer Funeral Home in Pompano Beach, Fla., from 1959-1970. Shortly after returning to his roots in Randolph County, Don and brother E.Z. established Benefield Funeral Home of Wedowee in 1972 and shortly after Benefield Funeral Home of Lineville. This was the beginning of Don’s dream of bringing professional funeral service and broadening the choices for the people of Randolph and Clay counties. This dream expanded when he had the opportunity to purchase Quattlebaum Funeral Home in Roanoke. Don was always a hardworking, down-to-earth man. He owned and operated the Wedowee Western Auto Store and Benefield Florist Shop, operated heavy equipment, enjoyed his cattle, and in his younger years, even tried his hand with a cotton crop. Don was a member of East Alabama Antique Tractor and Equipment Club, Liberty Grove Congregational Methodist Church, a 32 Degree Mason and a Shriner. He served the citizens of Randolph County as the coroner for 12 years, as well as sheriff for more than six months following the unexpected retirement of then-Sheriff Fred May due to medical reasons. Don was also very instrumental in establishing Randolph County Ambulance Association, providing ambulance service throughout Randolph County.
Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Alyce Kerr Benefield; children and their spouses, Tim (Ginny) Benefield of Tuscaloosa, Vicki (Doug) Roth of Columbus Ga., Cindy Baker of Carrollton, Ga., and Jeff (Bridgette) Benefield of LaGrange, Ga.; nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren; two sisters, Polly Jackson of LaGrange and Orene Crenshaw of Roanoke; two brothers, Ralph (wife, Sybil) Benefield of Wedowee and E.Z. (wife, Bobbie) Benefield of Lineville; brothers-in-law, Robert Kerr of Wedowee and Alan (wife, Sylvia) Kerr of Germany; and several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and -nephews, and great-great-nieces and -nephews. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Lawson and Bertha Wilson Benefield, as well as three brothers, Carl, D.V. and Dorsey.
Pallbearers will be Kevin Baker, Eric Baker, Andy Mullican, Kenneth Wortham, Jason Kitchens, Don Thomas, Stan Williamson, Ricky Daniel and Justin Benefield. Honorary pallbearers will be the staff of Benefield Funeral Home of Wedowee, Quattlebaum Funeral Home of Roanoke and Benefield Funeral Home of Lineville and the lady staff members of H&M Drugs of Wedowee.
