Hassell F Boothe

Hassell Francis Boothe passed away peacefully on September 1, 2025, at the age of 95, while residing at the Davis & McDaniel Veterans Care Center in Roanoke, Virginia.

Hassell was the first child of Lily Mae Jarrells Boothe and Giles Boothe, born July 23, 1930 in Floyd County, Virginia. He said he had to walk a few miles to the bus stop in order to attend grade school. Ultimately, Hassell graduated from Auburn High School in Riner where his name still hangs on the wall, engraved on at least one plaque. His high school friend, Clyde Morris, often invited him to visit his home on the river, where he met Clyde’s sister, Ruth, his future wife. After graduation in 1949, Hassell served in the US Army in Japan and Korea, participating in the Inchon Invasion and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Hassell’s ribbons and badges were later collected by his son-in-law, and they have hung on the wall in the house on Ash Drive for years. Hassell once commented that he didn’t know he had so many.

After leaving the army, Hassell enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Hassell and Ruth married on November 26, 1953, and afterward lived in Christiansburg. He received his real sheepskin diploma, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering. His first job took him and Ruth to Yorktown, Virginia to work for the Naval Weapons Station for a few years. They then returned to the Christiansburg area where Hassell took a job with the Radford Army Ammunition Plant. He remained with the plant until his retirement in 1990.

Hassell is survived by his wife of more than 70 years, Ruth Morris Boothe, who resides at Warm Hearth Village in Blacksburg, Virginia. Their three surviving daughters are Gail Posey of Raleigh, NC; Daisy Hardenstine of Christiansburg, Virginia; and Marjorie Liverman of Richmond, Virginia.

The grandchildren of Hassell and Ruth are Kara Petersen of Wake Forest, NC, Philip Boothe of Chicago, Illinois, Sara Posey of Seattle, Washington, Emma Posey of Cary, NC, Jonathan Hardenstine of Madison, Indiana, and Kenneth Hardenstine of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. There are also two great-grandchildren: Loic Hassell Petersen and Elizabeth Hardenstine.

Hassell was preceded in death by his 5 siblings Cecil Boothe, Wilda Dickerson, Dessie Boothe, Essie Sue Litton, Barbara Ann Richards, and Hassell’s two sons: Ronald, an infant, and Hassell Jr, affectionately known as H.F.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 5, at Horne’s Funeral Home 1300 N. Franklin St, Christiansburg. Visitation will begin at 1:00 pm, followed by a memorial at 2:00 pm and a graveside ceremony at Roselawn Memory Gardens in Christiansburg.