The family of George Leon Raborn | |
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George Leon Raborn George Leon Raborn known to his friends and family as Leon was born March 25,1911 to George Elliott Raborn and Elsie "Smith" Raborn. He was the oldest of George and Elise's three children. Leon has two sisters Ila Rhea "Raborn" Young, the wife of Ray Young and Delores (Dorothy) "Raborn " Buffalo, Wife of Robert Buffalo. He was born in Carlisle, Arkansas and perused the occupation of farming from a early age . He took great pride in the fact that in his life he had planted and harvested 67 crops of rice. This was not counting the corn, cotton, and wheat, Oats and soybeans that he had raised along with cattle, hogs and chickens. He married Lois" Tanner " Raborn November 4, 1933. Leon and Lois had three children, Melvin Leon Raborn born in 1936. Melvin Raborn married Joyce Ray and they had two children Melinda and Phillip., Charlotte "Raborn" Brown born in 1942 married Charles Brown and they had two Children Denise and Diane. Jerry Raborn born in 1945 married Sally"Frase" Adcock. Sally had two children by a previous marriage Christine and Glenn Adcock. Jerry and Sally had two children, Sally and Rebecca Leon and his wife Lois were both active in the Church, and community actives that would make life more enjoyable for their friends and neighbors. Leon's formal education consisted of grade school and through the ninth grade of High School, He was forced due to the illness of his Father to give up school and go to work to helping with the family farm. Although Leon's formal education ended early, he was very successful in all that he put his efforts into. Needing to clear land of trees in order to have more land to farm he purchased a Bulldozer in the early1950s.. He taught himself how to operate and achieve the results of increasing his farmable land by fifty percent. Leon later hired a man and went into the business of doing work for others, as a sideline to his farming. In 1949 with the desire to build a house as a home for their family Leon and Lois, working together set out to make their dream come true. Leon had Lois to draw up plans for the house that she desired. The house was to be set on some of the newly cleared ground that had been in Leon's Grandfathers family for years .It had been owned by his Great Aunt from whom he had purchased it. Before any building could be done the title had to be searched for any claims. This took some time and work on the part of Lois but she was able to assure it had a clear clean title. Leon then purchased a sawmill and using the timber on the farm sawed the lumber. Again, this was something Leon had to learn, as he knew little about sawing logs. Some of the lumber they had to hire to be dried but the oak was put up green. Lois's plans were taken to a architect (who happen to be a cousin) to be checked for flaws and things that would not work and he found only minor adjustments that needed to be made in them. Leon hired contractors, but he was very much involved with the building of the house himself. Christmas Eve in 1952 Leon moved his family into the house. Leon was able to see all of his children finish High School and all of his children were offered the opportunity of Collage. Both of his sons have Collage degrees his daughter did not finish. Leon started his life, and lived his life and was buried with in a three-mile range of land a place the Raborns have called home for well over two hundred years. Leon was not a well traveled man, but he always seem to enjoy and have something in common with who ever he met from the sharecropper down on his luck to the banker discussing his investments. It was just three miles but he touched the lives of all that pasted his way. Leon left this world Feb 24, 2000. This writer was proud to call him Dad. He loved his God. He loved his family. He loved his Neighbors. Moreover, He loved being a farmer. |
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