Benton T. Rackley

Funeral services for Mr. Benton T. Rackley, Jr. will be held Monday, February 14, 2005 at 2 PM at Aiken?s First Baptist Church, Aiken, SC with Rev. James H. Warren, Sr. and Rev. Jack Hasty officiating. Interment will follow in Bethany Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Alan Hay, Bill Johnson, Claude Johnson, Jack Spillers, Charles B. Warren, and Hal Warren. Honorary Pallbearers will be Jimmy Hay, Dr. Milton Johnson, & William T. Spillers. The family will receive friends Monday from 12:00 PM until the time of service at the church.

Mr. Rackley, 78, of Augusta, GA, died Thursday, morning, February 10, 2005.

Born in Miami, FL, a son of the late Benton T. Rackley, Sr. and the late Lucile Branan Rackley, he was raised in Macon, GA and Aiken, SC, where he attended Macon Elementary School, Aiken Junior High School, and graduated from Aiken High School. He received both his Bachelor?s and Master?s degrees and was educated at the University of South Carolina, New York University, the University of Florida, and Texas A & M.

Mr. Rackley was a United States Army Veteran where he served as second and first lieutenant in the Bomb Disposal Unit in Texas.

He had been employed at Howard Hughes Aircraft and North American Aviation, Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Rackey had lived in Veterans Homes for many years and was a resident of Beverly Manor, Augusta, GA at the time of his death. He suffered with a lengthy illness. He was a member of Aiken?s First Baptist Church, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the University of South Carolina Alumni Association.

He is survived by sister Alice Faye R. Warren Rev. James H., Sr. niece, Marcile W. Sims, Mark Mobile, AL; nephews, Charles B. Warren, Sharon Huntsville, AL and James H. ?Hal? Warren, Jr., Kathy Hampton, VA; great nieces, Christabel H. Warren, Hampton, VA, and Marci C. Sims, Mobile, AL; great nephews, Jonathan David Warren, Hampton, VA, Seth Joseph Warren, Hampton, VA, and Austin Colton Sims, Mobile, AL; cousins, Jack Spillers, Shirley Forsyth, GA, Bill Spillers, Anniston, AL, Bernice Bonacorsi, Brewer, ME, Dr. Milton Johnson, Joyce Macon, GA, William F. Johnson, LaShon Hickory, NC ,Martha Bennett, Frank Dade City, FL, Dr. Bill Branan, Carolyn Decatur, GA, Phillip Saggese and Marie Hicks, Marietta, GA and Teresa Mills, Macon, GA.

Memorials may be made to Aiken?s First Baptist Church, 120 Chesterfield St., NE, Aiken, SC 29801 or the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box K, Aiken, SC 29802.