James "Bill" Durwood Blankenship

James “Bill” Durwood Blankenship
1932 - 2019
James “Bill” Durwood Blankenship, age 87, of Snyder, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2019 at his home after a lengthy illness. He was born April 3, 1932 in DeLeon, Texas to James Rupert and Iowa (Southall) Blankenship.

Services for Mr. Blankenship will be held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday August 18, 2019 at First Baptist Church in Snyder. Hospice Chaplin Kinney Robinson will officiate. A visitation will be held Saturday, August 17, 2019, from 6 pm to 7 pm at Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Hillside Memorial Gardens under the direction of Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

Bill was married to Norma Dean Springfield on April 22, 1956 in Ackerly, Texas. Bill and Dean celebrated a wonderful life of 63 years together. They were truly blessed with a loving family and many friends.

Bill served in the U. S. Army during the Korean Conflict. Afterwards, he went to Odessa to work in the oil field. There in Odessa, he met Dean. In 1954 Bill moved to Snyder while working for Baker Oil Tools. Then in 1980, Bill opened his own business, Blankenship Packer Service, from which he retired from the oil business fourteen years later. During this time he developed an innovative packer configuration for which he became well known.

Bill’s first love was farming and ranching. The first farm he owned was in Dublin, Texas. In 1980 he began purchasing farms in the Fluvanna area. He enjoyed making improvements in the land improving production.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers Wayne Blankenship, Olan Blankenship, and Gerry Blankenship; three sisters Ollie George, Louise Knight, and Janie Lucas.

Survivors include his wife Dean, sister LaJoyce Davis of Stephenville, daughters Vicki Shurtleff (Sam) of Lampasas, Lisa Hartzog (Donny) of Snyder, and Pam Palacios (Antonio) of Mission. He is also survived by seven grandchildren James Shurtleff, Robert Allan Shurtleff, Amanda Whitmire (Adam), Kayla Hartzog, Nathan Palacios (Ana), Jason Palacios (Alli), and Maggi Palacios. He is survived by 3 great grandchildren and many friends.

Online Condolences may be posted at www.bellcypertseale.com