NATCHEZ — Funeral services for Arthur Buril Ragsdale, 79, who died Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2014, at Franklin County Memorial Hospital in Meadville, will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Mary’s Basilica with the Rev. David O’Connor officiating.

Burial service will follow at the Natchez City Cemetery under the direction of Marshall Funeral Home.

Ragsdale was born on Dec. 19, 1934, in Plummerville, Ark., the son of Glenn and Lorene Priddy Ragsdale.

Born in Arkansas, Buril was raised on Raritan Plantation in Newellton.

Prior to graduation Newellton High School in 1953, he was accepted into the engineering school at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. Immediately upon graduation in 1957, he went to work as a gas processing engineer for Phillips Petroleum in Bartlesville, Ok. Within four years, he transferred into the plastics division of Phillips and moved to Detroit, where he developed new accounts, including general motors. Then in 1973, he changed careers and moved to Dallas, where he worked as a manager in mergers and acquisitions for ENSERCH Corporation, an oil and gas exploration and distribution company. After retiring firm ENSERCH in 1998, he was a consultant for several years in the energy industry. During this time, he helped develop and run TCE, an electricity provider for commercial and industrial users. He then retired for good in 2008 at 74.

He was a voracious reader of world and American histories and bolstered his lively discussions with facts: dates, names and how historical events affect today. He also was a computer hobbyist who built his first computer in the early 1980s. Later on, he taught himself programming languages to develop software projects.

Soon after moving to Natchez from Dallas in 2010, he learned to love his Victorian home as much as his wife does. He volunteered his time delivering meals for the Stewpot an helping with events at St. Mary Basilica.

The family extends a special thanks to all the staff at Franklin County Memorial Hospital, who cared so well for their patient and his family.

Ragsdale was preceded in death by his parents; and his first wife, Carolyn Joan Busch Ragsdale.

Survivors include his wife, Lorraine Anielia Hampton Ragsdale; one daughter, Carrie Ellen Ragsdale of Oklahoma City; one son, Edward Allen and wife, Heather Frailey Ragsdale, of Austin; two sisters, Marian Mulligan and husband, James, of St. Joseph and Evelyn Russell of Madison; and a number of nieces, nephews and other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation either to the Natchez City Cemetery or to the Natchez Adams County Humane Society.