Barbara Page Raynor, 69, a resident of Gulf Shores died at her beloved High Country Mountain House in Linville, N.C. on Sept 8, 2013 after an 18-month valiant battle with cancer.
Barbara was born in Rockingham, N.C., the daughter of the late Lester Voyd Page and Pearl Deese Page, and was a 28-year resident of Gulf Shores. She previously resided in Charlotte, N.C.
Survivors include husband and best buddy, Harold Raynor; brother Earle Page and sister-in-law Ellen Page, both of Raleigh, N.C.; and nieces Tamara P. Thomas of Charlotte and Victoria P. Clayton of Raleigh and their children.
She attended Rockingham High School and King’s College in Charlotte, majoring in accounting.
Barbara worked for Sears in the regional accounting centers in Charlotte and Pensacola, retiring in 1986 after 20 years of service. She retired from Sears to fulfill a longtime dream to play golf any day the weather permitted.
Encouraged by Mary Williams, a close friend and coworker, Barbara fell in love with the game of golf in the late ’70s.
She was fortunate to have Charlotte’s Myers Park Country Club golf pro Walter Reynolds as her first golf instructor. In 1987 she became a student of Joann Beddow, a golf teaching professional with Jimmy Ballard’s famed golf school at Pine Harbor in Pell City, Ala.
Barbara evolved into an accomplished amateur golfer, winning a number of club and team championships.
She was a founding member of Craft Farms’ Cotton Creek Club in Gulf Shores, and previously a member of Carolina Golf and Country Club in Charlotte and Gulf Shores Golf Club in Gulf Shores.
She was very active in the Women's Alabama Golf Association, participating in a number of annual state championships and served on numerous WAGA committees. In 1993, the WAGA membership elected Barbara treasurer and she served in this position until 1996.
In 1997 she was appointed to the board of directors of the newly formed Women’s Alabama Golf Association Scholarship Foundation Trust, and served as treasurer of the foundation from 1997 until 2002 when health issues forced her to resign.
Barbara was a founding member of the Cotton Creek Ladies Golf Association, which was formed in 1988. She served as president of the CCLGA in ’96, ’97, ’01 and ’02. She was the club champion in ’94, ’98, ’01 and ’02.
During her golfing career in Alabama, she had six holes-in-one. For a number of years Barbara held the Ladies Low Scoring Record on Craft Farm’s Cypress Bend golf course, recording a one under par 71.
The family wishes to extend their deepest appreciation to the personnel at the Gulf Coast Cancer Center in Gulf Shores, in particular Dr. William C. Hixson and his staff; and the personnel at the Southern Cancer Center in Malbis, in particular Dr. Theresa Liu-Dumlao and her staff; as well as the personnel at the S.B. Jones Regional Cancer Center in Boone, N.C., and in particular Dr. Anna L. Sobol and her staff for their compassionate physical and emotional support during Barbara’s battle with cancer.
A private memorial service may be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in memory of Barbara be made to HMR ALSITE Scholarships Inc., Richard Caudle, treasurer, 3644 Vann Road, Suite 100, Birmingham, AL 35235.
Online condolences may be left at www.hamptonfuneralnc.com.
Arrangements by Hampton Funeral and Cremation Service, Boone, N.C.
