Doris Nixon Rutherford

Doris Nixon Rutherford, 78, passed away peacefully on Monday, May 23, 2022, at Mary Washington Hospital. She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 7, 1943, to Mr. and Mrs. William Leon Nixon. She was christened at Simpson Gillespie United Methodist Church.

Doris attended Biddleville Elementary, Northwest Middle School, and graduated from West Charlotte High School in 1962. Doris attended North Carolina Central University, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated in 1963. In 1966, she graduated with a history degree and became the first black teacher hired by Fredericksburg City Public Schools as the Librarian for James Monroe High School. Doris taught and worked in Fredericksburg City Public Schools, Montfort Academy, and retired from Stafford County Public Schools in 2006 as the Librarian and Media Specialist for Falmouth Elementary School. In addition to a long career in education, Doris earned her master's degree in Library Science from Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

Over the years, Doris was very active within her community and with her church organizations. She was a charter member establishing the Fredericksburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. where she faithfully served and supported the chapter's efforts in education and community service. As a member of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), Doris was a devoted member to the Faith and Hope Club and Young Women's League.

Doris' infectious laugh, warm and generous spirit, and unrelenting optimism will be sorely missed by her family and friends.

Survivors include her husband, Harold Rutherford; children, William and Angela Rutherford; sister, Cassie Stansbury; daughter-in-law, Cristy Rutherford; two grandchildren, Lauryn and William Matthew Rutherford; brother and sister-in-law, Kenneth and Diane Rutherford; two nephews, Keith and Courtney Rutherford; aunt, Gladys New; and seven cousins, James, David, and Milo New, Leah, Micah, and William Oglesby, and Robyn Braswell. She was preceded in death by her parents, William Leon Nixon and Ara Friday Nixon; aunt and uncle, Sylvia and Oscar Johnston; uncle, John New; brother-in-law, Wardell Stansbury; cousin, Catherine Oglesby; and niece, Lori Stansbury.

A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, June 9, 2022, at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home chapel. Interment will follow 11 a.m. Saturday, June 11, 2022, in Sunset Memory Gardens, Charlotte, North Carolina.