ENYEART, RUFUS August 12, 1918 to April 14, 2003 Rufus Enyeart, 84, passed away at the San Diego Hospice of liver cancer. He was born in Elkhart, Ind. He was the son of Rufus Samuel Enyeart and Lou Emma (Hollon) Beatty Enyeart Rowe; the brother of Myrtle, Caroline, Alice Rose, and George Beatty; the brother of Virginia May and Donald Curtis Enyeart (Lt. Cmdr, USN Ret), and Ida Louise Rowe. He was the grandson of Wm. Henry Enyeart (Civil War) and Leah Elizabeth Spoonhour and James Buchanan Hollon and Caroline Elkins; the great-grandson of John Wm. Enyeart (Civil War) and Sarah Porter; the great-great-grandson of Benjamin Enyeart and Judith Lloyd; the great-great-great-grandson of William Enyeart (Rev. War) and Jane Norris. All preceded him in death. On August 3, 1938, in Port Orchard, Kitsap Co, Wash., Rufus Enyeart married Mattie Lorine Dortch. She preceded him in death on January 26, 1993, and is buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery, San Diego, Calif. Survivors include their two daughters, (1) Dorothy Mae Finney-Spires and husband James of Chula Vista, Calif., and former husband Larry, of Camarillo, Calif., two grandsons, Shawn Patrick Finney who married Janet Lynn (DeWald) Marshall and had Nikki Lynn Finney, great-granddaughter, who has a half sister, Amber Marshall; (2) Mary Ann Enyeart who married Dean Woodburn of Selah, Wash, no issue; and step-grandfather to Teresa Marie and husband Dave Wellford, Allison Lee and husband Mike Lyons, and Matthew James Spires. Additional survivors include nephews, nieces, and cousins. Rufus Enyeart served in the USN, 1936-1940, worked on the San Diego, Chicago, and Ariz. railroads, and was a self-employed painting contractor in San Diego, Calif. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a 60-year lifetime member of the East San Diego Lodge No. 561 F , a 60-year lifetime member of the Scottish Rite, and a 55-year member of the Al Bahr Shriners. He was a ham radio operator, KR6K, and a member of the Clairemont Church of God. Viewing: Featheringill Mortuary Helix View Chapel, 9631 Campo Road, Spring Valley, Ca., Thursday, April 17, 2003, 4-8 p.m. Services: 1 p.m. Friday, April 18, 2003, at the Chapel with interment and Masonic Graveside Service at 2:15 p.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery, 3751 Market St., San Diego, Ca. (Division 5, Section 4, Lot 53, Grave 3.) Donations: East San Diego Masonic Lodge No. 561 F , 7849 Tommy Dr, SD 92119. This tribute to Rufus Enyeart is from his loving daughters who, along with their families, will forever love, remember, and deeply miss him.
Published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on 4/18/2003.