Obituary of Ernest L. Rainbolt

Funeral services honoring the life of Mr. Ernest L. Rainbolt are scheduled for Monday, June 16, 2025, at 2 PM, in the chapel of Golden Funeral Home. Officiants for the service will be Rev. Austin Rinehart and Rev. John O’Leary. Interment will follow in the Carter Cemetery and a time of visitation will precede the service beginning at 1 PM. Mr. Rainbolt was a resident of Bastrop and passed away Saturday, June 14, 2025 at the age of eighty-six. He was a retiree of the International Paper Company after a career that spanned forty-one and one half years. He was a long time member of Memorial Methodist Church and served his country in the National Guard. He enjoyed working on anything and was what he called, a “shade tree” mechanic. Additionally, he was an avid LSU sports fan, enjoyed telling jokes and talking about his time working at the paper mill. He is preceded in death by his parents, Allen and Georgia Rainbolt; three brothers; and one sister. Survivors include his wife of sixty-six years, Joyce A. Rainbolt; son, Ricky Rainbolt, and wife Gail, of Maumelle, AR; daughters, Belinda Allen, of Bastrop, Amy Rinehart, and husband Grady, of Sterlington, and Leigh Ann White, of Bastrop; sister, Mattie Matlock, of West Monroe, LA; seven grandchildren, Melissa Pettit, and husband Adam, Tiffany Rainbolt, Ryan Rainbolt, and wife Addie, Jamie Rainbolt, Austin Rinehart, and wife Lexi, Raychel Elkin, and husband Cody, and Savannah Loveday, and husband Nolan; five great-grandchildren, Charleigh Pettit, Rowan Pettit, Grayson Rinehart, Raegan Elkin, and Gabriel Elkin. Serving the family as pallbearers will be Joe Belin, Jimmy Matlock, Cody Elkin, Ryan Rainbolt, Adam Pettit, Stacy O’Neal, Nolan Loveday, and Donnie Paxton. Honorary pallbearers are the loving staff of St. Joseph Hospice. The family request in lieu of flowers that memorial donations be made to Memorial Methodist Church of Bastrop or the charity of your choice.