Wilma Jean Rafferty

Wilma Jean Puckett Rafferty passed on Wednesday, October 6, 2010, in Thomasville, Georgia. Ms. Rafferty was born on June 20, 1929 in Rockford, Illinois, to Samuel Everett Puckett and Fannie Puckett. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of more than 50 years Lester Rafferty, Sr., son Cecil Robert Rafferty, daughter Sandra Rafferty Curtin, and brother Everett Puckett, Jr. She is survived by her daughter Kathleen Rafferty Ashman husband Marcus, children Sarah and Christopher, son Lester Rafferty, Jr. wife Barbara, children Dana and Jay, granddaughter Lynn Marie Rafferty Hiott and grandson Charles Cecil Rafferty Hiott. Also surviving are her sisters Shirley Abraham, Janet Kliebe, Betty Miller, Joan Spencer, and Barbara Kirchner, and a host of nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren.
Ms. Rafferty was raised and married in Rockford, Illinois. She and her family lived in various cities throughout the Midwest, including Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Des Moines, Iowa, and West Lafayette, Indiana. While residing in West Lafayette she obtained her Bachelor's degree from Purdue University in Elementary Education. She and her husband then moved to Morton, Illinois, where they lived for over twenty years and where Lester Sr. ultimately retired. A few years after the death of her husband, Wilma moved to Thomasville, Georgia to be near her daughter Kathleen.
Visitation will be at the Sunset Memorial Gardens in Rockford, Illinois at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, October 9, 2010, with the service directly following at 11:00 a.m.