U.S. Army retired Col. John L. Rafferty Sr. passed away peacefully at Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg on July 15, 2024, after having suffered a stroke in February 2021.

John was born April 14, 1937, in Scranton, Pa., and grew up in the Hill Section, living with his mother, a teacher, and his sister, Betsy, after his father, an attorney, died when John was just 13. The family spent summers at the beloved cottage at LakeHenry, outside of Scranton, with aunts, uncles and cousins. 

John graduated from Scranton Preparatory School in 1955, and from the University of Scranton in 1959 where he received a B.A. in English and was a member of Alpha Sigma Nu. He was commissioned into the U.S. Army upon graduation. After a short assignment at Camp Indiantown Gap, he was posted to the 3rd Armored Division in Frankfurt, Germany. 

He married fellow Scrantonian Patricia Lawless in 1962, and she joined him in Frankfurt, the first of many postings as an Army family. Later overseas assignments included Vietnam and Heidelberg, Germany, as well as stateside postings in the National Capital Region, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., and New Orleans, La., where he attended Tulane University and received an M.B.A. with emphasis on a new field called data processing. His final assignment was at the U.S. Army Concepts Analysis Agency in Bethesda, Md. 

He retired from the Army in 1985, and embarked on a second career in information systems and telecommunications for Montgomery County, Md. Along the way, he obtained a J.D. with High Honors from George WashingtonUniversity LawSchool in 1980 through attending night school while working full time; he later was admitted to the bars in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

John and Pat were founding members of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Great Falls, and later became members of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., where they sang in the choir and enjoyed choir trips to Brazil and France.

He and Pat, an elementary school teacher, retired together in 2000, and moved to Rockbridge County, where they built a house on the Maury River and enjoyed many happy years. John and Pat volunteered for 10 years with Rockbridge Area Hospice, John as a board member and later as president, and Pat as an in-home respite caregiver. They were enthusiastic members of the Rockbridge Choral Society, Rockbridge area Newcomers, and Rockbridge Readers. John developed a passion for Iconography and produced many high- quality Christian Icon paintings in the eastern tradition. They also maintained a passion for travel and adventure with trips to Europe, the Middle East and Alaska. 

Soon after Pat died in 2021, John suffered a severe stroke. Although he spent the next three years in a wheelchair, his intellectual powers remained intact, and he enjoyed visits from his family and following along with their adventures and progress, found joy in the accomplishments of his grandchildren, and kept up with current events and sports until the end of his life.

John’s life was characterized by deep faith and his service to country and community. He maintained the highest standards for himself and brought out the best in others. He loved music, art and reading, and had a beautiful library of thousands of books. He had a wry sense of humor and loved to have a drink and good conversation.

John is survived by his daughter, Dr. Moira Rafferty, and her husband Dr. Robert Bass, of Lynchburg, their children, Eleanor Bass of Washington, D.C., and Daniel Bass of Richmond; and his son, Maj. Gen. John L. Rafferty Jr., U.S. Army, his wife Tracey, currently stationed in Germany, their children Erin Rafferty and Evan Rafferty, both of Pittsburgh, Pa.; his beloved sister and brother-in-law Elizabeth and Donald Slover; other special relatives including Rose Marie and Hal Flanagan, Tom and Barbara Flanagan, Erica Weiss Cole, the Rev. Michael Rafferty, Phil Rafferty, treasured friends Margaret Sweeney and Susan Bass; and beloved nieces and nephews. 

John and his family are so appreciative of the excellent and loving care he received at Kendal in Lexington and then Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg in his last years.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family. To send condolences, please visit tharpfuneralhome.com.