Thelma Shirley Blankenship,Went home to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus, on June 11, 2020 at Bluefield Regional Hospital. She was born in Bishop, Virginia on August 11, 1940. Shirley was a resident of Caretta, West Virginia most of her adult life. Shirley loved her large circle of family and friends. She loved studying the Bible and praying for everyone. She could often be heard to say, “It will be alright as soon as I touch Calvary.”
Shirley was retired from the McDowell County Board of Education where she was a bus driver for 31 years. She was a long-time member of the Jesus Church of Bartley. One of her favorite things to do was canning vegetables and sharing them with everyone.
Shirley was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Lona Grubb. Her brother, William “Billy” Silvers, her sister. Elva Gay Marcus, and her precious dachshund, Grace.
In addition to her many friends, left to lovingly cherish her memory are her children; daughters, Lona (Michael) Snow of Welch, West Virginia and Anita (Bill) Barrett of Austinville, Virginia; son, Mark Blankenship of Asheville, North Carolina; sister, Ann (Hubert) Patterson of Caretta; brother, Donald Quesenberry of Charlottesville, Virginia. Granddaughters; Melia (Seth) Adkins of Ona, West Virginia, Andrea (Bobby) Clifford of Vale, North Carolina. Shirley loved her great-grandchildren with her whole heart. Colton, Ansley and Gabe gave her so much pride. She loved and prayed for great nephews William and Nick Patterson, Brian Patterson and great niece Megan Ray. Lastly, three nephews that she considered her sons; Harold, Randy, and Cecil Patterson all of Caretta, West Virginia.
Funeral Services will be conducted Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 11:00 AM at Fanning Funeral Home in Welch with the Reverends Roger Woods, Brian Patterson and Bishop Timothy Akers officiating. Pallbearers will be William Patterson, Nick Patterson, Brian Patterson, Eugene Muncy, Harold Patterson and Cecil Patterson Friends may call at the Fanning Funeral Home Chapel in Welch on Monday, June 15, 2020 from 6-8 PM.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.fanningfuneralhomes.com
Fanning Funeral Home of Welch is serving the Blankenship family.