The Rev. Bob Bluford

A B-24 bomber pilot in Europe during World War II, the Rev. Bob Bluford returned home to Richmond, Va., to become a Presbyterian minister, a tireless community servant and a dedicated preservationist of the Richmond-area battlefields. Among his many preservation accomplishments. Bluford was closely involved with the Trust’s acquisition in 2000 of the 245-acre Burhman Tract at Malvern Hill in Henrico County. He also helped secure 5.8 battlefield acres at Totopotomoy Creek in 2006. A decade earlier, in 1995, Bluford worked with developers to buy and preserve 100 acres of battlefield land with intact earthworks at Cold Harbor while allowing a subdivision development to go forward. His extensive list of public service accomplishments includes co-founding the Fan Free Clinic in Richmond in 1968 and leading the movement to save the pre-Revolution site of Polegreen Church in Mechanicsville. Bluford celebrated his 100^th birthday in December 2018. He was 103 years old when he died on April 30, 2022.