Mr. Joseph Ricaud Darden, 98, formerly of Portsmouth, Va., passed away on Saturday, March 18, 2023, at Lynchburg General Hospital.
Born in Portsmouth, January 14, 1925, he was a son of the late James G. Darden Sr. and the late Josephine Ellen Ewers Darden.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Clara Pauline Lafon Darden; four brothers, James G. Darden Jr., Charles Marion Darden, William Thomas Darden, and John Francis Darden; and sister, Madeline Ellen Darden Davis Meixel.
He is survived by a daughter, Rebecca Sue Darden of Appomattox, Va., and a son, Timothy Alan Darden; daughter-in-law, Karen Sherwood Darden; and granddaughter, Rachel Ann Darden of Melfa.
He served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II from 1943-1946.
He attended Bluefield College in Bluefield, Va., and graduated from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn., and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
He was ordained as a Southern Baptist Minister in June 1956. He served several churches in Virginia and one in Baltimore for 35 and one-half years. He retired to Appomattox in November 1991.
He was a member of Grace Hills Baptist Church in Appomattox.
Interment will take place at Birchlawn Burial Park in Pearisburg, Va.
Memorials may be made to the Grace Hills Baptist Church Building Fund.
