John Franklin Blankenship

John Franklin Blankenship, 75 yrs, of Houston, TX, died Sunday, February 5, 2012, at his residence. Born May 14, 1936, in Hagerstown, MD, he was a son of the late John Collie and Carolyn Volland Dawson Blankenship. Mr. Blankenship is survived by his wife of 37 years, Freda Fortuna Blankenship of Houston, TX; daughter, Suzanne Elizabeth Blankenship; sons, John Franklin Blankenship, II, and wife, Sandy, and David Edsel Blankenship and wife, Sherrie; sister, Mary Leu Rowe and husband, Nelson; nephews, Donald Sean Knight, William Nelson Rowe, II, Stephen Colley Rowe, and Thomas Edward Rowe and wife, Tracy, and their children Gracie and Jean Marie; niece, Leuretha Gainey and husband, John, and their children, Jonathan, Kyle and Justin. Mr. Blankenship is a graduate of the former Jacob Tome Institute of Port Deposit, MD, Class of 1955. He attended the University of Maryland, Wesley College of Dover, DE, and Johns Hopkins University. He was a member of Masonic Union Lodge No. 40 of Danbury, CT. Mr. Blankenship worked for Westinghouse in the Baltimore area before moving to Consolidated Controls Corporation in Bethel, CT.  He moved to Houston, TX, and worked for Brown & Root in contract management before starting his own business manufacturing components for oil wells, and somewhere along the way started a small ranch near Gonzales, TX. He was also an avid hunter and loved to hunt large game in the Canadian Rockies, Colorado Rockies, Montana Rockies, New Mexico, and of course, Texas. In addition to his parents, Mr. Blankenship was preceded in death by his sister, Betty Jean Knight. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Mark's Episcopal Church in care of Lee A. Patterson & Son Funeral Home, P.A., P.O. Box 766, Perryville, MD  21903-0766. Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, February 13, 2012, 11:30 AM, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Perryville, MD. Visitation for family and friends will be held Sunday, February 12, 2012, 2 PM until 4 PM, at the Lee A. Patterson & Son Funeral Home, P.A., Perryville, MD. Father Robert R. Smith of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Perryville, MD, will officiate. Interment will be in St. Mark’s Cemetery, Perryville, MD. Arrangements by Lee A. Patterson & Son Funeral Home, P.A., Perryville, MD. www.pattersonfuneralhomemd.com