FRANKLIN—Vincent C. “Buddy” Lankford, Jr., 93, died Monday, Dec. 1, at East Pavilion.

Born April 26, 1921, in Southampton County, he was a lifelong resident of Franklin. He was the son of the late Vincent C. Lankford, Sr. and Berlie Burgess Lankford.

Mr. Lankford served as a Medic in the United States Army during World War II. He was attached to the 42nd Rainbow Division, which in 1945 participated in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp in southern Germany.

For several years after World War II, he was manager of Franklin’s A & P Grocery. He then began a career in the insurance industry, working locally for 35 years until his retirement in 1982. As a young man, he was a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and a variety of other community service organizations. More recently, he served as an active volunteer at Southampton Memorial Hospital’s East Pavilion prior to becoming a resident there himself. He was a member of the Hunterdale Christian Church.

Mr. Lankford was predeceased by Jane Stephenson Lankford, his wife of 58 years; a brother, Ashley D. Lankford; and two sisters, Mildred L. Blythe and Nelda L. Morton. Survivors include a daughter, Kay, of Fredericksburg; grandchildren, Daren Blythe of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Shannon Davis of Fredericksburg; three great grandchildren; nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be conducted at Wright Funeral Home at 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, with the Reverend James W. Browder III presiding. The family will receive friends one half hour before services. Burial will be private in Southampton Memorial Park.

www.wrightfuneralhome.org.