Leonard Franklin Blanton, 90, died peacefully at home on Tuesday, August 28, 2012 with family at his side.
A funeral service celebrating his life will be held 3:00 pm Friday, August 31 a McKendree United Methodist Church, 3537 Maiden Highway, Lincolnton, NC. Burial will follow in the McKendree UMC Cemetery. The family will receive friends Thursday, 6 to 8 pm at Warlick Funeral Home, 125 Dave Warlick Drive, Lincolnton, NC.
Leonard was born April 17, 1922 in Wilsons Mills, Johnston County, NC. He was the son of Alvin Lucian Blanton and Grace Helen Hamilton Blanton. He graduated from Lees-McRae College and served in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1945. He was assigned to the 20th Air Force, 59th Bomb Wing, Pacific Theater, and was stationed on Tinian Island. After the war, he continued his education at N.C. State College, earning a Masters Degree in Dairy Sciences. Having first worked at N.C. State he later worked at Berea College in Berea, KY, and the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. He returned to Raleigh in 1967 and worked for the NC Department of Agriculture, retiring in 1985 as the Director of the Food and Drug Protection Division.
Leonard was always active in his church both at Hayes Barton UMC in Raleigh and McKendree UMC in Lincolnton. He faithfully served in leadership positions in both churches where he was a long-time choir member, Sunday School teacher, trustee, and more. He was an accomplished woodworker and spent many hours crafting and refinishing furniture and other items. His gentle soul and dry wit will be missed by all who knew him.
Preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Alvin Hamilton Blanton, he is survived by his devoted wife of 64 years, Barbara Shrum Blanton. Additionally he is survived by sons Wynn Franklin Blanton (Lauren), Mark Leonard Blanton (Jennifer) and John Hamilton Blanton (Suzanne) and daughter, Barbara Blanton Frick. He is also survived by six grandchildren, John Frick (Jennifer), Sarah Frick, Meredith Blanton Gaines (Chris), Taylor Blanton, John Blanton, Jr., Andrew Blanton; and two great-grandchildren, Bryson and Leah Frick.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Shrum Scholarship Fund c/o McKendree UMC, P.O. Box 426, Lincolnton, NC 28093 or Hospice & Palliative Care of Lincoln County, 107 N. Cedar Street, Lincolnton, NC 28092.
