CUCM Robert (Rivers)

March 10, 2018

CUCM Robert (Rivers) Lee Loy III, 85, of Edinburg, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 9, 2018, at his home, surrounded by family, after a courageous battle with cancer. A family visitation night will be held Tuesday, March 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Woods Chapel Independent Bible Church, 58 Splinter Lane, New Market, Va. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, March 14, at 2 p.m. at Woods Chapel Independent Bible Church with the Rev. Glen Turner officiating. Interment will follow at Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery in New Market. The family will be hosting a fellowship meal at Woods Chapel Fellowship Hall following the interment. Rivers was born Dec. 18, 1932, in Arlington County, son of the late Robert L. Loy Jr. and the late Elsie Mae (Cockrill) Wilson. He was a graduate of Fairfax High School in Fairfax, where he lettered in football and baseball. From September 1951 to January 1953, he served as a patternmaker at the Naval Gun Factory at the Washington Navy Yard. On Feb. 25, 1953, Rivers enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve. In 1961, he became a plank holder in the recommissioned Reserve Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 23 (RNCMB23), where he served until he retired in 1993, retiring from RNCMB23 as a command master chief. Rivers loved the SEABEES, his makes and his various deployments. Coincidental to his Reserve service, Rivers was employed by the Department of Health and Human Services from August 1960 to December 1981, where he worked as an exhibit specialist. He worked evenings at Blair Incorporated and Color-Ad, assisting both of these companies with development and design of various exhibits. Family and community were very important to Rivers — he was an active participant in the Shenandoah County Republican Committee. He was a delivery driver for the Shenandoah County Meals on Wheels program. He served numerous terms on the SEABEE Memorial Scholarship Foundation. He loved helping his neighbors. He loved attending sporting events and school functions for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Rivers was a friend and mentor to countless individuals. Surviving are his loving and devoted wife of 60 years, Joyce Ann Loy; one daughter, Nancy E.L. Barnett and her husband, Frank, of Edinburg; one son, Michael A. Loy and his wife Patricia, of Edinburg; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. CUCM Loy was preceded in death by his parents; his stepfather, Carl A. Wilson; and by two sisters, Mary E. Moehler of Fredericksburg and Betty Marie Garren of Falls Church. Pallbearers will be Frank H. Barnett III, Derrick N. Dotson, John Funkhouser, Michael A. Loy, David M. Mischler and Charles (Ricky) Saxon. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Sentara Hospice Services, Harrisonburg, c/o Sentara Health Foundation, 6015 Poplar Hill Drive, Suite 308, Norfolk, VA 23502-3819, or to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 718517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517.