Harold Ray Blakney

Harold “Ray” Blakney, born on November 18, 1946, died following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s Disease at the Tennessee State Veterans Home in Murfreesboro on March 2, 2018. Ray, who hated to be called Harold, was born in a hospital in Corinth, Mississippi, not because he was from Mississippi (he’d happily tell you he was not) but because it was the closest hospital to his family home in Counce, Hardin County, Tennessee. He was the third child of Raymond Odle Blakney and Eula Mae Carson Blakney. His father, Raymond, was a World War II Navy veteran and welder and his mother, Eula, became a nurse after the birth of their three children. Ray was, notably, the grandson of Oscar Blakney (aka “Big Six”), the notorious 6’6” Hardin County deputy sheriff who was universally acknowledged as someone not to be messed with.

Ray grew up in Counce, Tennessee, where he was a member of First Baptist Church, and no matter where his life took him, whether the fields of Vietnam or the mountains of East Tennessee, he always considered Hardin County home. A Tennessean through and through, he was proud to say that he had lived in all three grand divisions of the State of Tennessee, having resided in his hometown of Counce, as well as Martin, Memphis, Knoxville, and Murfreesboro.

Ray graduated from Pickwick Southside High School in 1964, where he played both basketball and baseball. For a relatively short fellow, he was one heck of a ball player and could be counted on to never, ever miss a free throw. In fact, he often yelled liberally and colorfully at the television or in person at basketball games when players were unreliable on the line because, as we all knew from Ray, “free throws win ball games.”

After graduating from high school, Ray enrolled in the fall of 1964 at the University of Tennessee at Martin, but the United States Marine Corps would later have other plans for him.

After spending a year in college (where his grades might or might not have been something to write home about), he left Tennessee to work and earn money for his continued education at the Inland Steel Company in Indiana Harbor, Indiana. After about a year of that particular type of education, he decided college sounded just fine after all, and returned to Martin. However, after approximately six months back in college, Ray felt called to serve his country. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1966 and enjoyed a new haircut and a lengthy stay at Parris Island, courtesy of the United States government.

After completing boot camp at Parris Island, Ray went on to infantry training at Camp Lejeune. He was then selected to attend military journalism school at Ft. Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, where he earned some college credit and began a love for journalism that would later serve him well. In January of 1967, between boot camp and deployment, he married his childhood sweetheart, Kay (Rich) Blakney of Savannah and, though they would ultimately divorce later, the two were married for 46 years and raised two children together.

From June 1967 until July 1968, Ray served in Vietnam as a military journalist, both writing for the Marine Corps and leading the dangerous task of escorting civilian journalists as close to the front lines of battle as they dared. His work was published in the US military newspaper Stars & Stripes and the USMC’s weekly Sea Tiger newspaper, which was disseminated throughout Vietnam during the war. He spoke of the fierce nature of the journalists who often wanted to push the boundaries of their own personal safety (and his) to accurately report on the status of the war. During his time in Vietnam, he was assigned to the headquarters of the First Marine Division in Danang and he took captivating photos and—occasionally, but not often--told spellbinding stories of his service and of the brave service of others. He even still had a bit of shrapnel in his back which was larger than the tiny butterfly tattoo he bravely procured in his youth. One of the few times his family ever saw him cry was when he visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, where he located the names of those he knew who were lost in battle.

Upon returning from Vietnam, Ray served the final months of his enlistment in Atlanta. He had enlisted as a Private, but in the course of two years he attained the rank of Sergeant. Although he reported that his superior officers encouraged him to consider a military career, Ray declined. In fact, he said that he was told he could “shoot right up” in leadership, but Ray said he’d had “quite enough of shooting, thank you very much.” The Tennessee boy had been away from home long enough at that time, and it was back to Tennessee for him.

Armed with the GI Bill and a newfound respect for education that did not involve dodging bullets, Ray was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 1968 and returned to UT Martin with a renewed sense of purpose and a well-earned appreciation for life. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1971. He then continued to take advantage of Uncle Sam’s educational generosity and enrolled in law school at the University of Memphis (then Memphis State University), where he earned his Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1974. He practiced law in Memphis for about 15 years and served his community on countless charitable organizations and boards, including service as president of the USO, as a member of the Rotary Club, Elks Lodge, and the VFW, and as board president for the Frayser-Millington Mental Health Center. He also sponsored teeball teams for longer than anyone can remember and faded yellow baseball jerseys bearing his name can likely still be seen in Memphis to this day.

In his many years in Memphis, he delighted in playing sports. Some he played well (tennis) and others he played poorly (golf), but he always played with enthusiasm. He loved attending Memphis State basketball games, particularly in the 1980s, and he was a champion card player with an inscrutable poker face. He also loved being part of an award-winning Memphis in May barbeque cooking team for years and he competed not only in Memphis but also in contests as far away as Ireland with the friends he considered his brothers on the team.

After practicing law in Memphis, Ray moved back to his home county where he accepted a new challenge. He joined the staff of The Courier in Savannah as the sports editor. While there, he loved watching and reporting on sports at every level and ultimately garnered the Tennessee Press Association’s award for Tennessee’s best sports reporting in his division, a first for the The Courier. After several years, Ray moved to Knoxville and joined the staff of the Courier News in Clinton and, again, earned that paper its first statewide divisional recognition for best sports reporting in the State of Tennessee. While living in Knoxville, he hiked Mt LeConte more times than he could count and won a competition to name the Knoxville Ice Bears, the professional hockey team which continues to play to this day under the name Ray proudly submitted.

Ultimately, however, his large heart would prove to need a tune up in 2011 and, following a lifesaving bypass surgery by the VA doctors in Nashville, Ray decided to hang up his camera and notepad and enjoy life as a full-time retiree. After his recovery and before his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, he enjoyed some of his happiest days. He adored doting on his family, particularly his grandchildren. He took long walks with his dogs and taught his grandkids how to dance like no one was watching and to sing like no one had hearing. Just as he had done with his own children, he also taught them at very tender ages how to play poker, to double down and bluff when you need to, to look people in the eye when you speak to them, to remove your hat when the National Anthem is playing, and to otherwise avoid taking life too dang seriously.

Ray was a lifelong baseball fan, particularly of the Dodgers (and still obstinately referred to them as the Brooklyn Dodgers despite their move to LA many decades ago). As his illness progressed, he loved spending time with his family visiting great American cities and great American baseball stadiums, particularly during trips to Cooperstown, Denver, Baltimore, and Washington, DC.

He could wiggle his ears on command, could sing every Elvis song ever recorded, and once won an RC Cola and Moonpie Festival Dance Competition in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. If you think he didn’t brag about that often, you would be wrong. In addition to the love of his family, he lived for ice cream, Diet Cokes, Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, Hershey’s Chocolate Bars, catfish plates on Fridays, and cheeseburgers with mustard and pickle.

His favorite people were usually women and, other than the women to whom he was related by birth or marriage or the nurses who cared for him at the VA, his favorite women in the world were Dolly Parton, Martha Stewart, Hillary Clinton, and Allison Krauss. Clearly, he had a thing for blonds.

Ray’s mother and father and his sister Janice Blakney Swift pre-deceased him, as well as his beloved dog Josie, whom he technically (but affectionately) stole from his nephew Greg. He is survived by his daughter Tasha Blakney and her husband Michael and their two children Caroline and Katie (“the Muffins”) of Knoxville; his son Matthew and his wife Kelly and their two children Lucas and Lilly of Murfreesboro; his brother Lowell Blakney of Counce and his family; his beloved nieces and nephews Tim, Greg, Jana, Chris, Carol, and Angie, along with their families, most of whom continue to reside in West Tennessee. He also had friends and caregivers who were like family to him, including the very special members of the healthcare team at the Tennessee State Veterans Home in Murfreesboro, where Ray resided during the last stages of his disease.

Having lost both his father and his sister to the ravages of Alzheimer’s, Ray knew what his own diagnosis meant. Yet, until the very end, he never lost the sparkle in his eyes or the grin on his face. He joked, danced, and flirted relentlessly with the women at the VA, including those who were actually there to visit their own husbands, which came as no surprise to those who knew him best. On the night of his passing, he spoke to the angels he saw surrounding him in his room then simply stated, “I’m ready to go,” as he peacefully passed into the next world.

Ray Blakney will be laid to rest among the members of his family who went before him at Shanghai Cemetery in Counce on Tuesday, March 6, 2018, at 1:00 p.m., where he will receive military honors. Shackelford Funeral Directors will be handling arrangements. The family expresses gratitude for any tributes you wish to make on behalf of Ray’s memory, and requests that you consider his preference that donations be made in his honor to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis or to First Baptist Church in Counce.

Semper Fi.