Performer, Fireman Was Former Quality Quick Print Owner

Thomas Henry Raisbeck, owner of Quality Quick Print, Ink, in Lexington and active member of numerous civic and artistic organizations, died Friday, August 9, 2002 at his home in Natural Bridge.

Raisbeck was born July 16, 1946 in Lynbrook, New York, to the late Henry Thomas and Ethel Abel Raisbeck. While in New York, he begun his lifelong interest in theater and volunteer firefighting. Raisbeck married Elberta (Elbie) McInnes Raisbeck in 1972.

The family moved to Natural Bridge, Virginia, in 1978, where Raisbeck worked in construction as partner and president of Paige, Maass and Raisbeck. In 1984, he opened Quality Quick Print, Ink, in its first location where Pete's Barbecue is located on North Main St. in Lexington. The shop moved to its current location on South Main Street in 1986.

Although Raisbeck earned his living as a business owner, his heart was always involved in trying to enhance the quality of his fellow man. While in New York, he was a member of the West Sayville Volunteer Fire Department. In Virginia, he was a founding member of the Natural Bridge Volunteer Fire Department, where he served as chief, assistant chief and president. He was certified as both a first responder and as an EMT, and assisted the Lexington Volunteer Fire Department and the Glasgow Lifesaving and First Aid Crew on many calls. He was also founder and director of the Rockbridge County Volunteer Deputies in 1991.

While in New York, Raisbeck was a member of the New York Association for Brain-Injured Children, an interest continued in Virginia through his active support of the Association for Retarded Citizens and Special Olympics. He was also a board member of the Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center. He was a founder and past board member of the Rockbridge Area Habitat for Humanity and also worked with Rockbridge Area Hospice. Raisbeck received the Natural Bridge Ruritan Club Citizens of the Years Award for 2001 and was presented a citation for service from the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors in February 2002. One of the activities Raisbeck was most proud of was his participation in the Rockbridge Haiti Medical Mission in 2000. He often stated that the main regret of his illness was that he was only able to serve with the mission one time.

Raisbeck began acting while a student at Lynbrook High School in New York. He became a board member of the Sayville Musical Workshop on Long Island where he worked both as an actor and a technical director. His theatrical experience continued in Virginia, where Raisbeck appeared in shows at Southern Seminary Junior College (now Southern Virginia University), Virginia Military Institute, Washington and Lee University, Lime Kiln, Footlight Productions and fine Arts in Rockbridge. In all, Raisbeck acted in and/or did technical work in more than 40 shows. In addition to performing, he also served on the board of directors of Henry Street Playhouse and the Rockbridge concert-Theatre Series and was a co-founder of Bacchus Productions, a semi-professional musical review. he also appeared in productions in Roanoke, Bedford and Harrisonburg, and sang with the Rockbridge Community Chorus (now the Rockbridge Choral Society). His theatrical interests turned educational as he served many years as a judge for the one-act plays for the Virginia Theatre Association and for the Virginia State Forensics Competition and the English-Speaking Union's Shakespeare competition.

A longtime participant in Scottish cultural activities, Raisbeck was a founding member of the Scottish Society of the Virginia Highlands and the Blue Ridge Highlands Scottish Festival and was active in the clan MacInnes Society, U.S.A. for more than 20 years. For more than 20 years he was a participant in and staff member of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in North Carolina, the largest Scottish Festival in North America. he was also a director the Sedalia Center Celtic Festival. Raisbeck also played traditional Celtic rhythm instruments, including the trump (mouth harp), bodhran and bones, and was a featured musician on "The Bonnie Banks" by Flora McDonald Gammon.

Another interest of his was flying his power parachute. He will always be remembered for his sense of humor and his contagious laugh.

In addition to his parents, Raisbeck was preceded in death by his sister, Linda Raisbeck Nadle. He is survived by his wife, Elberta (Elbie); stepchildren, Kirk Bumstead of Natural Bridge, Ross Bumstead Christian of Roanoke and the Rev. Heather bumstead of Racine, Wisconsin; a step-granddaughter, Sarah Christian Lawrence of Roanoke; and two nephews, David Nadle and Jeremy Nadle, both of New York, New York.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Natural Bridge Volunteer Fire Department, Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center or the Rockbridge Area Hospice.

The Reynolds Funeral Service of Waynesboro is handling the arrangements.