KEARNEY — Gary L. Blankenship, 65, of Kearney died Thursday, June 29, 2017, at Kearney Regional Medical Center.

Memorial services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church with the Rev. Stan Murdoch officiating. Burial will be at Kearney Cemetery. Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.

Gary was born April 6, 1952, in Superior to Alvin “Dale” and Virginia (DeKalb) Blankenship. He grew up and attended school in Superior before moving to Kearney in 1969. He graduated from Kearney High School in 1970 and then attended Kearney State College.

He went to work for Baldwin Filters. On June 4, 1977, he married Marge Hegarty in Kearney. He continued to work at Baldwin’s and lived in Hastings and Fremont before moving back to Kearney in 1980. He retired in 1999 from Baldwin’s and had worked part time at Walmart in Kearney since.

He was a member of First Baptist Church in Kearney and a past member of the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department. He was also a past president of the Kearney Soccer Program, was a Boy Scout leader and Cub Master, coached many youth sports teams and did volunteer work at Good Samaritan Hospital. Gary received the first Kearney Hub Freedom Award for Youth Sports.

Surviving relatives include his wife of Kearney; sons, Greg Blankenship and wife Angie and grandchildren Aidan, Brady and Kellen of St. Paul, and Scott Blankenship and wife Jennifer and grandchildren Kameron and Tyler of Laveen, Ariz.; brothers, Al Blankenship and wife Sandy of Waverly and Bruce Blankenship and wife Tammy of Kearney; sister, Debbie Craig and husband Brian of Omaha; brothers-in-law, John and Mike Hegarty, both of Lincoln; and sisters-in-law, Colleen Anderson of McAllen, Texas, and Barbara Hegarty, Theresa Hegarty, Laura Douglass and husband John, Bonnie Suarez and Carolyn Hegarty, all of Lincoln.

He was preceded in death by his father in 1994; mother in 2007; granddaughter, Quinn Marie in 2012; and nephew, Tim Blankenship.