Rickie Jeffries

Rickie Austin Jeffries

January 7, 1955 - July 2, 2026

RALEIGH, NC - Rickie Austin Jeffries, 71, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Raleigh on July 2, 2026.

Born in Raleigh and raised in Garner, Rickie was a graduate of Garner Senior High School. He and his wife, Denise Macon Jeffries, were together since their teenage years and married in 1984, sharing a life rooted in family and community.

Rickie took immense pride in his family and work. He was a loyal husband, a proud father to his daughters, Amanda and Lisa, and a welcoming father-in-law to Johnnie Nobling. A particularly proud milestone for Rickie was seeing both of his daughters attend and graduate with advanced degrees from North Carolina State University. Of all the roles he held, he was happiest as "Papa" to his granddaughter, Allison Kelly Sarsfield, who lovingly shares her grandparents with her best friends.

Rickie's life was deeply intertwined with the Raleigh business community. He spent his career working for the family business, Jeffries & Sons Auto & Marine, founded on Lake Wheeler Road in 1971 by his father, Bruce Jeffries, Sr. Rickie worked as an experienced body shop repairman, boat salesman, and boat mechanic, ultimately succeeding his father and leading the business until retiring in 2009. Under their leadership, the company earned a reputation for timely, high-quality commercial work-serving thousands of customers, including the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the City of Raleigh, Raleigh Police Department, the State of North Carolina, NC State University, and CP&L (now Duke Energy). The business was regularly awarded performance merits such as the Grady-White Boats "Key Dealer Award" from its partners. Rickie deeply valued the business community and the many longtime friendships that formed during his decades at the shop and continued long into his retirement.

Though he was often a reserved man, Rickie's care for others was unmistakable in how he operated. He quietly looked out for those around him, taking care to ensure that everyone was always well fed-from serving Thanksgiving meals to the community at the old Dusty's Service Center in Downtown Raleigh, to setting up campus cookouts for his daughters' various activities at State, to inviting the Swift Creek Fire Department to stop by for ice cream while celebrating a longtime neighbor and close friend returning home after a successful transplant surgery.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bruce Jeffries, Sr. and Shirley Austin Jeffries, and his older brother, Bruce Jeffries, Jr.

He is survived by his wife, Denise Jeffries; his daughters, Amanda "Mandy" Jeffries and Lisa Jeffries Nobling (Johnnie); his granddaughter, Allison; his sisters, Sandra Jeffries Ball of Wilmington and Deborah Jeffries McCollum of Raleigh; and many lifelong friends, neighbors who became family, and former customers.

Celebration of Life & Memorial Gathering

Please join the family to share in refreshments, exchange memories, and honor Rickie's life.

• Date: Sunday, August 9, 2026

• Time: 2-4 p.m. (Drop in anytime; brief remarks will be shared at 3 p.m.)

• Location: Lake Wheeler Waterfront Center, 6404 Lake Wheeler Rd, Raleigh, NC 27603

• Note for Speakers: If you wish to share a memory during the remarks, please call or text Lisa at 919-229-9725 ahead of time for planning purposes. An opportunity for volunteers to speak will also be available.

A private family interment will be held at Montlawn Memorial Park at the family mausoleum, overlooking Rickie's mother and father's gravesites. Loved ones are welcome to visit his plaque beginning Wednesday, July 22, 2026.

Memorial Contributions

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Rickie's honor to Raleigh's Inter-Faith Food Shuttle at foodshuttle.org/give. Supporting this mission is a meaningful way to carry on his practical legacy of looking out for neighbors in need.

And as Rickie often noted at the end of his evening phone call rounds just to check in, "Thanks for calling."