Our Valued Staff

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  David Charles Williams Jr., Managing Partner

  David has been involved with funeral service since he was sixteen, and has worked with Rader Funeral Home and Lotz Funeral Home since February 2011. David is originally from Mogadore, Ohio and is a member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.
  David attended the University of Akron, Akron Ohio, Borromeo Seminary College of Ohio, Wickliffe, Ohio and is a graduate of Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  David is certified by the National Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards and certified by the Academy of Funeral Service Practice. He is a Licensed Funeral Director and Emblamer in Ohio and a Licensed Funeral Service Provider in Virginia. David also has a background in Grief Counseling, specializing in pregnancy loss, still birth, and newborn deaths. He is an active Mortuary Officer with the US Department of Health and Human Services Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, Region V.
  David has been married to his wife Julie for 22 years. Julie is employed as Dental Hygienist for Walter Sheilds, DDS in Blacksburg. David and Julie have 2 children Maria who attends George Mason University and Jonathon who attends Glenvar High School.

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  Betty H. Cundiff, Funeral Director

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  Sharon K. Sproles, Bereavement and Aftercare Coordinator

  Sharon began working at Rader Funeral Home in 2005. She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and moved to Southern California at age nine, where she lived until she moved to Virginia in 1985 when her husband retired. Her first job, at age 18 as a Psychiatric nurses aid, led her into the medical profession.
  
  She is a graduate of the Psychiatric Technician Program at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California and the Medical/nursing/phlebotomy program at Riverside College in Riverside, California. She worked in various areas of the medical field for over 20 years. In 1986, Sharon volunteered for Lewis Gale Hospital, The Red Cross and at a later time, she volunteered for the Bradley Free Clinic of Roanoke. Sharon is a Certified Grief Counselor and member of the American Academy of Grief Counselors. She received the Death and Grief Studies accredited certification from the internationally recognized Center For Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colorado. Sharon's interest in this field began during her many years as a family support volunteer for Good Samaritan Hospice. Sharon is a member of The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Roanoke and has served as past Board Member. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys walking, reading, old movies and being a member of The Big Springs Garden Club. Sharon believes that your journey into grief and healing begins with finding a person who will "listen with their heart and be present to another person's pain. It's not about taking away the pain." Sharon feels honored to work at Rader Funeral Home as Bereavement and Aftercare Coordinator. she realizes, as we serve others , we only have one chance to get it right and Rader Funeral Home truly does treat every family as if they were our very own.

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  Dana Gibson, Funeral Assistant

  Before coming to work at Rader Funeral Home, Dana owned Commonwealth Audio and Visual. He is married to Lena Gibson and has one daughter, Mary Westmoreland and her husband, Ted. Dana and Lena have one grand daughter, Michelle R. West and one great grand daughter, Casi.
  Dana is a member of the Williamson Road Masonic Lodge and the Melrose Masonic Lodge, as well as the Scottish Rites, Shrine Center, VFW Post #1841, the Woodmen of the World and Troutville Baptist Church.

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  Lois Caldwell Crawford, Funeral Assistant

  Lois joined the staff at Rader Funeral Home in the fall of 2007. She retired after more than forty years as a registered nurse. She was educated at Medical College of Virginia, Medical College of Georgia and East Tennessee State University. Most of her career involved registered nurse education. For 28 years, she served as Director of Virginia Appalachian Tricollege Nursing Program, a consortium of three community colleges in far southwest Virginia, headquartered at Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon, Virginia. Following retirement in 2005, Lois moved back to the family home in Mill Creek. She is a member of the Mill Creek Baptist Church where she belongs to the Sanctuary Choir, the Business Womens Circle and several committees. She also serves as an election official for Botetourt County. Some of her favorite things are, her family, travel, singing and reading. She finds her work at Rader Funeral Home humbling and yet very satisfying.

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  Roger L. Firebaugh, Funeral Assistant

  Roger was born October 22, 1945 in Roanoke and was raised and has lived in Botetourt County all of his life. He attended Troutville Elementary School and graduated from Lord Botetourt High School in 1964 where he played football, basketball, baseball and ran track.
  He worked for Roanoke Gas Co. for 43 years before retiring in November 2009. He spent 30 years in the Virginia Army National Guard and the Army Reserve.
  He has been married to Reba for 45 years and they have one daughter, Amanda as well as one granddaughter, Brennan. Roger has been employed with Rader Funeral Home since May 2010.

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  Rev. Irving R. Glover, Office Manager and Funeral Assistant

  The Rev. Irving R. Glover joined the Rader staff as a Funeral Assistant in 1996 while Rader was still at the old location in Troutville. Irving is retired from congregational ministry in the Church of the Brethren, but is currently serving the church's Virlina District as their Pastor to Pastors. Carol and Irving Glover live in Daleville a short distance from the funeral home. They moved to Virginia in 1979, having served 11 years in Illinois. The Glovers are a blended family with 9 children and 6+ grandchildren living all around the United States. Irving was educated at Gettysburg College and Elizabethtown College, both in Pennsylvania, and then at Bethany Biblical Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. He was ordained in 1962 at his home church near Hershey, Pennsylvania. Irving enjoys singing barbershop harmony, puttering in his workshop and occasionally doing counted cross stitch.
  

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  Gail C. Blanchard, Funeral Assistant

  Gail Blanchard lives on a farm in Troutville with her husband, Ronnie. They have a daughter who is an excellent hairdresser, and she has two boys who are very special to Gail and Ronnie. They also have a son, Kevin, who is in the Marines. He went to Iraq and was injured in June 2005 when his Humvee ran over an IED. He has come through it all with a wonderful outlook on life; and attends George Washington University. Gail works at Greenfield Elementary with Special Education students. She also enjoys working at Rader Funeral Home part-time. Gail and Ronnie have been members of Hollins Road Baptist Church for the last 25 years. Gail says that her hobby would be going to yard sales.
  
  

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  Mr Travis Lee Keith, Pastor/Ambassador

  Travis Keith, came to work for Rader Funeral Home in June of 2012, Travis is a Youth Pastor at Southside Baptist Church in Goodview, Virgina. He is active in the community with volunteering in lthe local Rescue Mission and Food Bank. Travis has been married to his wife Rebekah for 8 years and they have 3 children.

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  Dennis E Journell, Amabssador

  Dennis is a member of our part-time staff. He and His wife Wanda, are lifelong residents of Salem. Dennis graduated from Andrew Lewis High School. He retired from Tyco Electronics and retired from the US Army Reserve with 32 years of service. Dennis was previously employed with John M. Oakey & Son Funeral Home in Salem.
  Dennis is a member and deacon at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Salem. He is also a member and past master of the Taylor Masonic Lodge and Kazim Temple. He is past President of the Salem Civitan Club.
  Dennis spends most of his free time working in his church and helping under-privileged children and the occasional golf game.
  Dennis feels he can help families through their most difficult times in their lives by working with them and showing compassion to each family.

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  Haywood Gray Smith Jr., Ambassador

  Haywood Gray Smith, Jr., "Gray" joins our staff with over 30 years of ministry experience. A Roanoke native, Gray graduated from Cave Spring High School. He earned degrees from Mars Hill College-Bachelor of Arts in Religion and History, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary-Master of Divinity with a concentration in Biblical Languages, Wake Forest University-Master of Arts, and Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond-Doctor of Ministry. Gray has also acquired numerous graduate hours at the University of Virginia in the areas of education and religion. Gray served as a Baptist minister for many years before converting to the Orthodox faith. He serves as a Sub-deacon at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Roanoke, and was most recently employed as a chaplain at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Gray and his wife Wanda have three children: Timothy, a senior at Roanoke College, Andrew, a sophomore at Virginia Western Community College, and Peter, a student at Cave Spring Middle School.

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  Lora Lynn Osborne, Ambassador

  Lora Osborne came to work for the Rader Funeral Home in 2012. She was born in Tazewell County and moved to Roanoke July 1991. She was in the banking business for 20 years. Currently, she is enrolled for completion of a Licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer for the state of VA.
  Lora is active in the community as a member of the Sunshine Girls in Troutville and a representative for the Troutville Town Hall. She is an avid cook and enjoys volunteering with the Troutville Farmers Market and city luncheons. She is a cheerleading coach for the Upward Bound Program sponsored by Rainbow Forest Baptist Church.
  Lora is married and has four “furbabies” (two dogs and two cats). She has a true passion for animals. When families need a helping hand, a hug or someone to listen during their difficult times, Lora is there to comfort whether it be a beloved pet or a beloved family member.