Lewis Parker Blackburn and Hazel "Hady" Heath

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Husband Lewis Parker Blackburn

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           Born: 26 Dec 1919 - Taiban, De Baca Co., New Mexico 1 2
     Christened: 
           Died: 18 Feb 2011 - Austin, Travis Co., Texas
         Buried: 

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         Father: Horace B. Blackburn (1892-1983)
         Mother: Kate Parker (1894-1978)

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       Marriage: 1947 1

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Wife Hazel "Hady" Heath

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           Born: 1924 - Texas 1
     Christened: 
           Died: 21 Apr 2010 3
         Buried:  - Iraan, Texas

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Children

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1 M Lewis Brent Blackburn ¹

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           Born: 24 Jun 1949 - Mitchell Co., Texas 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Janet G. Poynter (Abt 1950-      ) 5
           Marr: 16 Jun 1973 - Harris Co., Texas 5

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2 M Jesse Robert Blackburn ¹

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           Born: 21 Jul 1954 - Harris Co., Texas 4
     Christened: 
           Died: 
         Buried: 

         Spouse: Debra J. Potts (Abt 1955-      )
           Marr: 21 Aug 1976 - Harris Co., Texas 5

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General Notes: Husband - Lewis Parker Blackburn

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OBITUARY:

Odessa American, February 22, 2011:

IRAAN Lewis Parker Blackburn, a kind and loving husband, father and grandfather with a quick wit, a fun nature and a strong sense of loyalty to family and friends, died Feb. 18, 2011, in Austin, Texas. Funeral services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Feb. 23 at the First United Methodist Church in Iraan, Texas, with burial to follow at the Iraan Cemetery.
Lewis was born Dec. 26, 1919, in the Taiban community of De Baca County, N.M., the first child of Horace and Kate Parker Blackburn. Following time in Artesia, N.M., Lewis and his two sisters moved to Pecos County, Texas in 1927 when Horace followed work there to lay pipeline for the newly discovered Yates oil field. This began a life-long connection Lewis had to the Red Barn community that became Iraan.
As a youth, Lewis was a member of the Iraan High School Band and active in Scouting as a member of Boy Scout Troop 49 and as a Sea Scout. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 1935. He was one of 23 scouts from Iraan that went to Washington, D.C., in 1937 for the first National Scout Jamboree. These scouts and others from the Concho Valley Council formed the "Cowboy Scout Band," the hit of the Jamboree. As a Sea Scout, he assisted in the construction of the S.S.S. Yates, a boat that ultimately set sail on a lake in San Angelo. Photos and mementos of Lewis' scouting days in Iraan are on display in the restored Iraan Scout House museum, which he helped to dedicate last September.
After graduation from Iraan High School in 1937, he attended Tarleton State College in Stephenville to study architecture. He transferred to Texas Technological College, graduating with a degree in architecture in 1942. At Tech he was a member of the Naval ROTC, Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and the Texas Tech marching band.
Following graduation, Lewis enlisted in the Naval Reserve and joined millions of other young men and women of "The Greatest Generation" as they answered the call for service during World War II. Lewis took a job as a draftsman with Shell Pipeline in McCamey, Texas, while waiting for his orders to report to the Navy. He didn't know it at the time, but the few months he worked for Shell then was the beginning of a 40-year career as an engineer with the company from which he retired in 1982.
Lewis reported to the Great Lakes Naval Officer Candidate School in Chicago in the fall of 1942. He was commissioned an ensign and ordered to CICPAC, Pearl Harbor where in 1943 he was assigned as a gunnery officer on the U.S.S. Pensacola \emdash "The Grey Ghost" \emdash a California Class heavy cruiser. He remained on active duty until 1946 seeing action throughout the Pacific and as part of the U.S. occupation forces in Japan following its surrender. He retired from the Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant in 1956, but he maintained contact with his closest shipmates for the rest of his life and enjoyed attending a number of Pensacola reunions over the years.
After the experience of the War in the Pacific, Lewis happily accepted the stability of returning to work for Shell Pipeline Company, which held his job for him and counted his time in the military as service time with the company as well. He was assigned a position in Colorado City, Texas, where he met and married Hazel "Hady" Heath on June 1, 1947. Shell transferred Lewis to Houston in 1951 where he remained until retiring in 1982 and returning to Iraan. The couple raised two sons, actively involved in their extracurricular activities, including church, scouts and sports. Lewis and Hady were camping enthusiasts, first in a tent and later in a trailer that they took on several cross-country excursions. They also enjoyed square dancing, lunches at the Senior Citizens Center in Iraan and activities at the Methodist church in Iraan.
Always active in the Scouting Program, as an adult he served as a Cubmaster, assistant Scoutmaster and Scoutmaster. While active with the Sam Houston Area Council in Houston, he led troops as the Scoutmaster to the 1964 National Jamboree at Valley Forge, Penn., and the 1969 National Jamboree at Farragut State Park, Idaho. He received Scouting's Silver Beaver award, one of its highest recognitions for volunteers. A particular source of pride for him was that both his sons and both his grandsons earned the rank of Eagle.
Hady preceded Lewis in death on April 21, 2010. He was also preceded in death by a sister, Snow Hall of Iraan. He is survived by his two sons and daughters-in-law, Brent and Janet of Conroe, and Jess and Debby of Austin; three grandchildren, Cody, Elliott and Kyle; one great-grandson, Travis; a sister, Jenny Lawson of Houston; and several nieces and nephews.
The family requests those wishing to remember Lewis to make a contribution in his name to the First United Methodist Church in Iraan.

1 Dorothy Kinkead, Descendants of Lewis Parker and Jennie Hinkle, unpublished.

2 Personal Communication -- Jennie Blackburn Lawson.

3 Personal Communication -- Lewis Parker Blackburn.

4 Texas, U.S., Birth Index 1903 -- 1997, Repository: http://www.ancestry.com.

5 Texas, U.S., Marriage Index 1824 -- 2014, Repository: http://www.ancestry.com.