RUDY NELSON LEA

RUDY NELSON LEA SR of Raleigh, NC died June 23, 2019 at the age of 73. A licensed North Carolina and South Carolina mortician, he served Lightner Funeral Home for 10 years before establishing Lea Funeral Home and Cremation Services in 1980, which he owned and operated for over 40 years. Through his funeral home, Lea mentored several students interested in pursuing a career in funeral service. Lea's patent pending software program that he designed explicitly to manage the day-to-day operations of a funeral home is used by funeral homes throughout the country. For 15 years, Lea served on the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service as past president, vice president and active member. When his elected term expired, The North Carolina Funeral Directors Association reappointed him to the board for another three-year term and was later reappointed to serve on the board twice by the governor. A graduate of the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science, he served as a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Mortuary Science at Fayetteville Technical Community College.