Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
I saw two obituaries of note this morning. The first is for Robert C. McCoy, who was 87 when he died July 14. He grew up in Detroit and served in Brazil during World War II.
In 1981, he retired from his position as Dean of the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University, and he and Jean moved to Brasstown, North Carolina.
Drawn to the area as students at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Bob became an active member of the craft community, learning from the craftsmen and providing leadership to the school.
Bob McCoy’s life centered around community involvement and service to others. He demonstrated these values through his active business and civic involvement in the Detroit area and later as a board member of the John C. Campbell Folk School and faculty member at Tri County Community College and Mars Hill’s Extension program. Finally, in his adopted home of Asheville, Bob was an active member of the Jubilee Community and also devoted time and energy to Habitat for Humanity, Manna Food Bank, Meals on Wheels, and the local chapter of the Red Cross.
The second obituary of note is that of James Rafferty, who was 63 when he died July 12. He was a New Haven, Conn., native and served in the Vietnam War.
In 1997 he relocated with his family to Asheville. He continued in the building trade opening Rafferty Construction Corporation, a business that he treated like family. He fell in love with the mountains and the people native to this area. You can see many of his custom homes built from Highlands to Weaverville; and on the commercial side his projects included Arby’s and Dunkin Doughnut’s restaurants, Pulliam Properties up-fits and Biltmore Station Flood repairs. After he became ill, his legacy was to make sure Rafferty Construction would continue to thrive and provide for the families that were so much a part of its success.
