Rufus Ashton Baines Jr., 71, went to be with the Lord on July 3, 2015. Rufus was born June 9, 1944, to the late Erma and Rufus Ashton Baines Sr. He was also predeceased by a brother, Richard Baines; sister-in-law, Janice Baines; and brother-in-law, Jack Riddick.

Rufus was a 1962 graduate from Suffolk High School, attended Elon College, and entered the U.S. Army, training at the Army Signal School in Fort Monmouth, N.J., in 1963. He served in the Signal Corp, Crypto Unit from 1963-1966 in Taipei, Taiwan and Fort Dietrick, Md. He worked for Navy Security Communications, Crypto Unit in Syracuse, N.Y., from 1966 to 1971. He graduated from the Virginia State Police Academy 53rd Basic Training School and served as a trooper with promotions to senior trooper, special agent as undercover drug agent, and Asset Forfeiture Unit, retiring in 1996. He worked as a bailiff and the Victim Witness Coordinator with Essex County Sheriff’s Department in Tappahannock, retiring for a second time in 2003. In Orange, he worked for Grymes Drug Store for several years.

Rufus has served as president of the Rappahannock County Lions Club and was a former member of Rotary International. He has been active in many churches serving on the vestries of Trinity Episcopal in Washington, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tappahannock, and St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church in Orange.

He is survived by his wife, Lynne Oliver Baker Baines, of Rhodesville; sons, Robert Ashton Baines and Valerie Ames, of Honey Brook, Pa., and Lee Baines and wife, Sharon, of True Blue; grandchildren, Evan, Grace, Jack, Max and Thomas Baines; a Danish exchange son, Thomas Bergmann, and Danish grandson, Alexander; sister, Joyce Baines Riddick, of Suffolk, and Nancy Baines White and husband, George, of Smithfield; nieces, Terri Baines and husband, Richard, of England, Pam Carr, and husband, Mike, Kelly Powell and husband, Brian, of Suffolk; nephews, Mark Baines and wife, Amanda, of Gloucester, and Jeff Baines and wife, Tanya, of Berlin, Germany; nine great-nieces and -nephews.

A celebration of Rufus Ashton Baines Jr.’s life will be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Lin Hutton and the Rev. Jennings Hobson on July 12, 2015, at 1 p.m. at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church, 119 Caroline St., Orange, VA 22960.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Orange Free Clinic, P.O. Box 441, Orange, VA 22960, St. Thomas Episcopal Church Restoration Project, 119 Caroline Street, Orange, VA 22960, or to a charity of your choice. R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home and Crematory, 509 W. Washington St., Suffolk is serving the family. Condolences may be registered at RWBakerFH.com.