The Shadow
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Corbin Miller Reynolds III, age 104, of Glen Wilton, Virginia, died Tuesday, May 9, 2017 at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia. He was born October 3, 1912 on the Reynolds Farm in Glen Wilton and lived for 104 years within sight of the Glen Wilton Mountain in view of the White Rock Gap. He was the son of the late Corbin M. Reynolds Jr. and Margaret Lillian Anderson Reynolds.
Bud roamed the mountains, fields and James River in an idyllic childhood. He watched blast furnaces operate adjacent to the Reynolds Farm, remembers WWI, seeing his first car, plane and radio-a crystal homemade set made by Mr. Hamm and engineer at the furnaces. He watched the dinkie engines scurry between the iron ore mines and the furnace and listened to telegraph news at the depot.
He attended 10 years of school at Glen Wilton Elementary and was one of six of the first Glen Wilton youth transported to Eagle Rock High School to graduate.
He got a job at Westvaco due to his stellar baseball skills, played on the Westvaco team in the 30’s and 40’s, helped organize the labor union while conducting secret meetings in basements to recruit support. He worked to get the first Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance plan for Westvaco employees and worked retiring as Bleach Room Supervisor of 42 years in 1974.
Hunting, fishing and baseball were his avocations. Besides the Westvaco team, he organized the first pony league baseball team for teen boys and recreational league teams for adults playing until he was too old to run to first base.
He fished the fresh waters of the mountains and salt water of the outer banks where he and Ruby spent weeks in the spring and fall for 25 years. He hunted every ridge in sight for every critter on them. But the turkey was his favorite prey. He waged a crusade against them and hunted them until he was 96 years old. At 95 he killed three with 1 shot and prayed he could get them home before the game warden made a random pass through the county roads.
Bud organized the Glen Wilton Wildlife Club in the 40’s, helped Ashton Downey build the first fire equipment building using a Sears Building Manual, served to plan the consolidation of high schools in Botetourt, was an Eagle Rock Ruritan, and was a one man welfare department to feed, clothe, get wood for, and train for the elderly and the needy before assistance program. He worked to get public water, and was president of the Demonstration Water Project through TAP for 10 rural communities. He grew to become the Virginia Water Project which grew to the Southeast stretching from Delaware to Florida and serves as a model for nationwide regional formations to get water for rural areas.
His vocation was his church work. He was the 3rd generation of his family to attend the Glen Wilton Presbyterian Church and was a lifelong member serving every office, Ruling Elder and later Elder Emeritus, and serving the Montgomery, Fincastle and Peaks Presbytery that included Glen Wilton.
Corbin was a democrat to the bone. He voted in 21 consecutive Presidential elections. Until this week he read a daily and two weekly newspapers to keep up to date.
He has resided at the Woodlands for 20 months. A spunky, cheerful, and energetic resident, he raised the spirits of residents and staff. His window viewed the back side of the Glen Wilton Mountains above Moneymaker Hollow.
On March 13, 1936, he married Ruby Maydian of Selma. They were married for 66 years before her death in 2002. Their home was a haven for all ages where laughter, sharing, caring, fellowship and fine dining were enjoyed by many. Everyone loved Bud and Ruby.
In addition to his wife he is preceded in death by his sister, Louise McClung Reynolds, a daughter in law, Frances Reynolds, The Maydians in laws and their spouses and all of his generation of friends.
He is survived by a son, Corbin “Billy” Reynolds IV of Clifton Forge; two daughters, Anita Wildhaber and husband Frank of Salem, Va; and Jane Lyle and husband Ernie of Bacova, Va; 10 grandchildren, Tim Reynolds, Kevin and Heidi Reynolds, Kenny and Lisa Reynolds, Katherine Reynolds, Theresa R. and Dallas Kiester, Susan and John Holgren, Trina W. and Dale Boitnott, Kathy W. and Ben Bowman, Nicole L. and Neal Kemper and Ernie Lye Jr; 23 great grandchildren; Caleb, Brooke, Kaileigh, Hunter, Haley, Jackson, Miranda, Jessica, Savannah, Corbin, Josh, Brittany, Aaron, Ethan, Anna Maria, Aaron, Ashley, Travis, Heather, Christopher, Kayla, Austin and Summer; 8 great great grandchildren; Raelyn, expected arrival of Zachary, Maggie, Aria, Carlin, Brayden, Avery and Gavin; devoted caregivers, Lisa Osborne; church friends, Cathryn, Tony, Karen and Seth, and numerous extended family members and friends.
A funeral service will be conducted, Saturday, May 13, 2017 at 3:00 pm in the Chapel of Nicely Funeral Home with Reverend Robert McRae officiating. Interment will follow at Locust Bottom Cemetery in Botetourt County. The family will receive friends on Friday evening from 6:00-8:00 pm and Saturday from 1:30 pm until the time of service at Nicely Funeral Home in Clifton Forge. Pallbearers and honary pallbearers will be his grandsons, great grandsons, Frank Anderson, Frank Thurston, Jerry Caldwell, and Jerry Dean Caldwell.
Memorial tributes will take the form of contributions to the Glen Wilton Presbyterian Church, PO Box 80, Glen Wilton Va. 24438 and the Woodlands activities fund, 1000 Fairview Ave, Clifton Forge, Va. 24422, or a charity of your choice.
To send condolences to the family online, please visit www.nicelyfuneralhome.com
