Donald E. "Tater" Blankenship, 74, of Kentland, died Friday, March 2, 2007, at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Lafayette.

Born Jan. 1, 1933, in Fowler, to the late Wilbur and Pauline Buzzard Blankenship, He was a 1951 graduate of Fowler High School.

He was trained in sonar and radar in the Navy and served from 1952 until 1956 in the Korean War.

His marriage was to Connie Dorton on May 14, 1952, in Fowler, and she survives.

Mr. Blankenship was a resident of Kentland since 1956. He was a glass cutter at Capitol of Kentland and trained and groomed race horses. He coached seventh grade boys and seventh and eighth grade girls basketball for 28 years and seventh and eighth grade girls track for five years for South Newton School Corporation. He coached all levels in the Kentland Summer Baseball League for 18 years, and took Babe Ruth All Star teams to the State Finals eight of those years.

He was a member of the Kentland American Legion, Illinois Harness Racing Association and Trinity United Methodist Church in Kentland.

Surviving are a son, Bernie Blankenship (wife: Becky) of Kentland; and a daughter, Cari Hoaks of Kentland.

Also surviving are his grandchildren, Casey Blankenship of Lafayette, Jennifer, Jamie and Aaron Hoaks of Kentland; and an aunt, Wanda Foster of Otterbein.

Visitation will be Tuesday from 3-8 p.m. (CST) at McMullan-Stitz Funeral Home, Kentland. Funeral service will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. (CST) with a visitation 1 hour prior at Trinity United Methodist Church, Kentland., the Rev. Joseph Smith officiating. Burial with military rites at Mt. Gilboa Cemetery, Fowler. Memorials may be made to American Heart Assoc., American Lung Assoc., or the Kentland Fire Department.
Published Lafayette, IN Journal & Courier

Donald E. "Tater" Blankenship, 74, of Kentland, died Friday, March 2, 2007, at St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Lafayette.

Born Jan. 1, 1933, in Fowler, to the late Wilbur and Pauline Buzzard Blankenship, He was a 1951 graduate of Fowler High School.

He was trained in sonar and radar in the Navy and served from 1952 until 1956 in the Korean War.

His marriage was to Connie Dorton on May 14, 1952, in Fowler, and she survives.

Mr. Blankenship was a resident of Kentland since 1956. He was a glass cutter at Capitol of Kentland and trained and groomed race horses. He coached seventh grade boys and seventh and eighth grade girls basketball for 28 years and seventh and eighth grade girls track for five years for South Newton School Corporation. He coached all levels in the Kentland Summer Baseball League for 18 years, and took Babe Ruth All Star teams to the State Finals eight of those years.

He was a member of the Kentland American Legion, Illinois Harness Racing Association and Trinity United Methodist Church in Kentland.

Surviving are a son, Bernie Blankenship (wife: Becky) of Kentland; and a daughter, Cari Hoaks of Kentland.

Also surviving are his grandchildren, Casey Blankenship of Lafayette, Jennifer, Jamie and Aaron Hoaks of Kentland; and an aunt, Wanda Foster of Otterbein.

Visitation will be Tuesday from 3-8 p.m. (CST) at McMullan-Stitz Funeral Home, Kentland. Funeral service will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. (CST) with a visitation 1 hour prior at Trinity United Methodist Church, Kentland., the Rev. Joseph Smith officiating. Burial with military rites at Mt. Gilboa Cemetery, Fowler. Memorials may be made to American Heart Assoc., American Lung Assoc., or the Kentland Fire Department.
Published Lafayette, IN Journal & Courier