Billy Blankenship

Maggie Valley – Billy Willard Blankenship, 72, passed away on Thursday, June 2, 2022, at The Elizabeth House in Flat Rock.

Billy was a native and lifelong resident of Haywood County and a son of the late Willard and Lillian Shipman Blankenship. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Mary Ann Blankenship.  Billy retired from Champion International, Blue Ridge, & Evergreen in 2014 with 38 years of service and was a member of Canton First Baptist Church.  He enjoyed golfing, sports, and men’s fast pitch softball (Canton Merchants).

He is survived by his wife of eight years, Sandra Cox Blankenship; two daughters, Keeta Blankenship (Amy) of Candler and Sarah Jeffus of Fletcher; two sons, Andrew Blankenship (Amy) of Aydlett, NC and Ryan Blankenship (Christy) of Canton; three sisters, Brenda Ledford (James), Barbara Watson, all of Canton and Rosa Lee Warren (Charles) of Candler; and six grandchildren, Maggie Blankenship, Jakoby Underwood, Hailey Blankenship, Ari Underwood, Waylon Blankenship, and Sadie Blankenship.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, in the Canton Chapel of Wells Funeral Home with the Reverend Josh Evans and Reverend Jess Foster officiating.  The family will receive friends from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Elizabeth House, 581 South Allen Road, Flat Rock, NC  28731, American Cancer Society, PO Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21714, or to the American Diabetes Association, PO Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023.

The care of Mr. Blankenship has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Homes of Canton and an online memorial register is available at “Obituaries” at www.wellsfuneralhome.com