Name:
Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright
Dates:
Birth date: October 5, 1949
Death date: August 23, 2013
Obituary:
Mrs. Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright, 63 of Bristol, passed away Friday evening, August 23, 2013, at the Bacon County Hospital following a sudden illness.
Born in Waycross on October 5, 1949, she had lived in Pierce County all of her life. She had been a graphic artist with The Blackshear Times for 42 years and was of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Boatright enjoyed cooking, baking cakes, reading and gardening.
She was a daughter of the late Vernon LaVon Blalock. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Diane Jackson.
Survivors include her husband, Terry J. Boatright, Sr. of Bristol; two sons and daughters-in-law, Terry J., Jr. & Stacey Boatright of the Walkerville Community and Jonathan Douglass & Hannah Boatright of Bristol; her mother, Clara Mae Chancey Blalock of Mershon; her sister and brother-in-law, Teresa & Lon Sinclair of Mershon; her new granddaughter, Kaley Brooke Boatright; and several nieces, nephews & other relatives.
Visitation:
Visitation for Mrs. Boatright will be held Sunday evening from 6 until 8 at the funeral home.
Service:
Funeral services for Mrs. Boatright will be held at 11:00 o'clock Monday morning, August 26, 2013, at the Bristol Baptist Church.
Mrs. Boatright will lie in state at the church one hour prior to the service.
The family requests that employees of The Blackshear Times to serve as honorary pallbearers. Please meet at the church by 10:30 Monday morning.
Cemetery:
Interment will be in the Bristol Cemetery.
Pearson-Dial Funeral Home
659 Main Street | Blackshear, GA 31516
Phone: (912) 449-6626
[email protected]
---
Four years later and we still miss her
ROBERT M. WILLIAMS, JR.
Editor & Publisher Aug 15, 2017
LaVerne Boatright’s death left a hole in our staff, and in our hearts.
It’s the start of football season and, while most are celebrating that fun time of year, those of us at The Blackshear Times know we’re facing another somber anniversary.
With next week’s issue on the 23rd, we will mark 208 editions we will have published without LaVerne Boatright.
We marvel each week that we march on without her, but you understand that better when you realize she had a significant part of publishing more than 2,000 issues of this newspaper. You don’t easily replace that kind of legacy.
LaVerne started out here in 1970 as a typesetter, but, with intelligence, tremendous artistic talent, and a creative flair, she soon became invaluable creating award-winning advertising designs. Over the next 43 years, there would be few jobs at The Times she did not master.
It was a warm spring day in April, 1971 when a 20 year-old, wet-behind-the-ears young man drove into Blackshear with all his wordly possessions crammed into a lime-green Pontiac Gran Prix, eager to start a career as a weekly newspaper editor. Not knowing where The Blackshear Times office was located, I saw a tall, pretty girl walking along the sidewalk. Rolling down my window, I called out to her for directions.
That dazzling brunette, the first person I saw in Blackshear, was LaVerne.
“That’s where I’m going,” she said with a laugh, pointing to the end of the block. “It’s just right there.”
By the time I parked, we walked in together. In two minutes, I was her new boss and that chance encounter would quickly become a warm friendship — ultimately a partnership to last 42 years. I often told her she had “seniority” on me and she loved to remind me.
But then came Friday, August 23, 2013. The woman who had nurtured me as a combination of employee, friend, big sister and even sometimes like another wife, died of a massive heart attack.
Just as LaVerne had grown through many roles in her work here at the paper, her life had evolved as well. Proud to be a farmer’s wife, LaVerne and the love of her life, Terry, raised two fine sons and had become grandparents just two months before her death. Friends had asked if she was ready to give up work to help tend to her beautiful granddaughter. Her answer, given with a laugh, turned out to be sadly prophetic.
“Nah. I’ll probably just work till I die.”
And that she did.
Her chair still sits empty most of the time. Just like the place she held in our hearts.
• Robert M. Williams, Jr. is Editor & Publisher of The Blackshear Times.
Email: [email protected].
Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright
Dates:
Birth date: October 5, 1949
Death date: August 23, 2013
Obituary:
Mrs. Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright, 63 of Bristol, passed away Friday evening, August 23, 2013, at the Bacon County Hospital following a sudden illness.
Born in Waycross on October 5, 1949, she had lived in Pierce County all of her life. She had been a graphic artist with The Blackshear Times for 42 years and was of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Boatright enjoyed cooking, baking cakes, reading and gardening.
She was a daughter of the late Vernon LaVon Blalock. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Diane Jackson.
Survivors include her husband, Terry J. Boatright, Sr. of Bristol; two sons and daughters-in-law, Terry J., Jr. & Stacey Boatright of the Walkerville Community and Jonathan Douglass & Hannah Boatright of Bristol; her mother, Clara Mae Chancey Blalock of Mershon; her sister and brother-in-law, Teresa & Lon Sinclair of Mershon; her new granddaughter, Kaley Brooke Boatright; and several nieces, nephews & other relatives.
Visitation:
Visitation for Mrs. Boatright will be held Sunday evening from 6 until 8 at the funeral home.
Service:
Funeral services for Mrs. Boatright will be held at 11:00 o'clock Monday morning, August 26, 2013, at the Bristol Baptist Church.
Mrs. Boatright will lie in state at the church one hour prior to the service.
The family requests that employees of The Blackshear Times to serve as honorary pallbearers. Please meet at the church by 10:30 Monday morning.
Cemetery:
Interment will be in the Bristol Cemetery.
Pearson-Dial Funeral Home
659 Main Street | Blackshear, GA 31516
Phone: (912) 449-6626
[email protected]
---
Four years later and we still miss her
ROBERT M. WILLIAMS, JR.
Editor & Publisher Aug 15, 2017
LaVerne Boatright’s death left a hole in our staff, and in our hearts.
It’s the start of football season and, while most are celebrating that fun time of year, those of us at The Blackshear Times know we’re facing another somber anniversary.
With next week’s issue on the 23rd, we will mark 208 editions we will have published without LaVerne Boatright.
We marvel each week that we march on without her, but you understand that better when you realize she had a significant part of publishing more than 2,000 issues of this newspaper. You don’t easily replace that kind of legacy.
LaVerne started out here in 1970 as a typesetter, but, with intelligence, tremendous artistic talent, and a creative flair, she soon became invaluable creating award-winning advertising designs. Over the next 43 years, there would be few jobs at The Times she did not master.
It was a warm spring day in April, 1971 when a 20 year-old, wet-behind-the-ears young man drove into Blackshear with all his wordly possessions crammed into a lime-green Pontiac Gran Prix, eager to start a career as a weekly newspaper editor. Not knowing where The Blackshear Times office was located, I saw a tall, pretty girl walking along the sidewalk. Rolling down my window, I called out to her for directions.
That dazzling brunette, the first person I saw in Blackshear, was LaVerne.
“That’s where I’m going,” she said with a laugh, pointing to the end of the block. “It’s just right there.”
By the time I parked, we walked in together. In two minutes, I was her new boss and that chance encounter would quickly become a warm friendship — ultimately a partnership to last 42 years. I often told her she had “seniority” on me and she loved to remind me.
But then came Friday, August 23, 2013. The woman who had nurtured me as a combination of employee, friend, big sister and even sometimes like another wife, died of a massive heart attack.
Just as LaVerne had grown through many roles in her work here at the paper, her life had evolved as well. Proud to be a farmer’s wife, LaVerne and the love of her life, Terry, raised two fine sons and had become grandparents just two months before her death. Friends had asked if she was ready to give up work to help tend to her beautiful granddaughter. Her answer, given with a laugh, turned out to be sadly prophetic.
“Nah. I’ll probably just work till I die.”
And that she did.
Her chair still sits empty most of the time. Just like the place she held in our hearts.
• Robert M. Williams, Jr. is Editor & Publisher of The Blackshear Times.
Email: [email protected].
Name:
Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright
Dates:
Birth date: October 5, 1949
Death date: August 23, 2013
Obituary:
Mrs. Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright, 63 of Bristol, passed away Friday evening, August 23, 2013, at the Bacon County Hospital following a sudden illness.
Born in Waycross on October 5, 1949, she had lived in Pierce County all of her life. She had been a graphic artist with The Blackshear Times for 42 years and was of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Boatright enjoyed cooking, baking cakes, reading and gardening.
She was a daughter of the late Vernon LaVon Blalock. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Diane Jackson.
Survivors include her husband, Terry J. Boatright, Sr. of Bristol; two sons and daughters-in-law, Terry J., Jr. & Stacey Boatright of the Walkerville Community and Jonathan Douglass & Hannah Boatright of Bristol; her mother, Clara Mae Chancey Blalock of Mershon; her sister and brother-in-law, Teresa & Lon Sinclair of Mershon; her new granddaughter, Kaley Brooke Boatright; and several nieces, nephews & other relatives.
Visitation:
Visitation for Mrs. Boatright will be held Sunday evening from 6 until 8 at the funeral home.
Service:
Funeral services for Mrs. Boatright will be held at 11:00 o'clock Monday morning, August 26, 2013, at the Bristol Baptist Church.
Mrs. Boatright will lie in state at the church one hour prior to the service.
The family requests that employees of The Blackshear Times to serve as honorary pallbearers. Please meet at the church by 10:30 Monday morning.
Cemetery:
Interment will be in the Bristol Cemetery.
Pearson-Dial Funeral Home
659 Main Street | Blackshear, GA 31516
Phone: (912) 449-6626
[email protected]
---
Four years later and we still miss her
ROBERT M. WILLIAMS, JR.
Editor & Publisher Aug 15, 2017
LaVerne Boatright’s death left a hole in our staff, and in our hearts.
It’s the start of football season and, while most are celebrating that fun time of year, those of us at The Blackshear Times know we’re facing another somber anniversary.
With next week’s issue on the 23rd, we will mark 208 editions we will have published without LaVerne Boatright.
We marvel each week that we march on without her, but you understand that better when you realize she had a significant part of publishing more than 2,000 issues of this newspaper. You don’t easily replace that kind of legacy.
LaVerne started out here in 1970 as a typesetter, but, with intelligence, tremendous artistic talent, and a creative flair, she soon became invaluable creating award-winning advertising designs. Over the next 43 years, there would be few jobs at The Times she did not master.
It was a warm spring day in April, 1971 when a 20 year-old, wet-behind-the-ears young man drove into Blackshear with all his wordly possessions crammed into a lime-green Pontiac Gran Prix, eager to start a career as a weekly newspaper editor. Not knowing where The Blackshear Times office was located, I saw a tall, pretty girl walking along the sidewalk. Rolling down my window, I called out to her for directions.
That dazzling brunette, the first person I saw in Blackshear, was LaVerne.
“That’s where I’m going,” she said with a laugh, pointing to the end of the block. “It’s just right there.”
By the time I parked, we walked in together. In two minutes, I was her new boss and that chance encounter would quickly become a warm friendship — ultimately a partnership to last 42 years. I often told her she had “seniority” on me and she loved to remind me.
But then came Friday, August 23, 2013. The woman who had nurtured me as a combination of employee, friend, big sister and even sometimes like another wife, died of a massive heart attack.
Just as LaVerne had grown through many roles in her work here at the paper, her life had evolved as well. Proud to be a farmer’s wife, LaVerne and the love of her life, Terry, raised two fine sons and had become grandparents just two months before her death. Friends had asked if she was ready to give up work to help tend to her beautiful granddaughter. Her answer, given with a laugh, turned out to be sadly prophetic.
“Nah. I’ll probably just work till I die.”
And that she did.
Her chair still sits empty most of the time. Just like the place she held in our hearts.
• Robert M. Williams, Jr. is Editor & Publisher of The Blackshear Times.
Email: [email protected].
Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright
Dates:
Birth date: October 5, 1949
Death date: August 23, 2013
Obituary:
Mrs. Clara LaVerne Blalock Boatright, 63 of Bristol, passed away Friday evening, August 23, 2013, at the Bacon County Hospital following a sudden illness.
Born in Waycross on October 5, 1949, she had lived in Pierce County all of her life. She had been a graphic artist with The Blackshear Times for 42 years and was of the Baptist faith. Mrs. Boatright enjoyed cooking, baking cakes, reading and gardening.
She was a daughter of the late Vernon LaVon Blalock. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Diane Jackson.
Survivors include her husband, Terry J. Boatright, Sr. of Bristol; two sons and daughters-in-law, Terry J., Jr. & Stacey Boatright of the Walkerville Community and Jonathan Douglass & Hannah Boatright of Bristol; her mother, Clara Mae Chancey Blalock of Mershon; her sister and brother-in-law, Teresa & Lon Sinclair of Mershon; her new granddaughter, Kaley Brooke Boatright; and several nieces, nephews & other relatives.
Visitation:
Visitation for Mrs. Boatright will be held Sunday evening from 6 until 8 at the funeral home.
Service:
Funeral services for Mrs. Boatright will be held at 11:00 o'clock Monday morning, August 26, 2013, at the Bristol Baptist Church.
Mrs. Boatright will lie in state at the church one hour prior to the service.
The family requests that employees of The Blackshear Times to serve as honorary pallbearers. Please meet at the church by 10:30 Monday morning.
Cemetery:
Interment will be in the Bristol Cemetery.
Pearson-Dial Funeral Home
659 Main Street | Blackshear, GA 31516
Phone: (912) 449-6626
[email protected]
---
Four years later and we still miss her
ROBERT M. WILLIAMS, JR.
Editor & Publisher Aug 15, 2017
LaVerne Boatright’s death left a hole in our staff, and in our hearts.
It’s the start of football season and, while most are celebrating that fun time of year, those of us at The Blackshear Times know we’re facing another somber anniversary.
With next week’s issue on the 23rd, we will mark 208 editions we will have published without LaVerne Boatright.
We marvel each week that we march on without her, but you understand that better when you realize she had a significant part of publishing more than 2,000 issues of this newspaper. You don’t easily replace that kind of legacy.
LaVerne started out here in 1970 as a typesetter, but, with intelligence, tremendous artistic talent, and a creative flair, she soon became invaluable creating award-winning advertising designs. Over the next 43 years, there would be few jobs at The Times she did not master.
It was a warm spring day in April, 1971 when a 20 year-old, wet-behind-the-ears young man drove into Blackshear with all his wordly possessions crammed into a lime-green Pontiac Gran Prix, eager to start a career as a weekly newspaper editor. Not knowing where The Blackshear Times office was located, I saw a tall, pretty girl walking along the sidewalk. Rolling down my window, I called out to her for directions.
That dazzling brunette, the first person I saw in Blackshear, was LaVerne.
“That’s where I’m going,” she said with a laugh, pointing to the end of the block. “It’s just right there.”
By the time I parked, we walked in together. In two minutes, I was her new boss and that chance encounter would quickly become a warm friendship — ultimately a partnership to last 42 years. I often told her she had “seniority” on me and she loved to remind me.
But then came Friday, August 23, 2013. The woman who had nurtured me as a combination of employee, friend, big sister and even sometimes like another wife, died of a massive heart attack.
Just as LaVerne had grown through many roles in her work here at the paper, her life had evolved as well. Proud to be a farmer’s wife, LaVerne and the love of her life, Terry, raised two fine sons and had become grandparents just two months before her death. Friends had asked if she was ready to give up work to help tend to her beautiful granddaughter. Her answer, given with a laugh, turned out to be sadly prophetic.
“Nah. I’ll probably just work till I die.”
And that she did.
Her chair still sits empty most of the time. Just like the place she held in our hearts.
• Robert M. Williams, Jr. is Editor & Publisher of The Blackshear Times.
Email: [email protected].
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