William Rex "Jerry" Blackburn Jr.

March 16, 1933 - May 20, 2022

William Rex "Jerry" Blackburn Jr., 89, of Bristol, Tenn., died on May 20, 2022, peacefully at home. He is survived by his wife of more than 64 years, Jean Blackburn, who took extraordinary loving care of him in the last years of his life. He is also survived by their two children, Judy Blackburn Bracher Carmichael (Doug) of Abingdon, Va., and Michael Rex Blackburn (Carolyn) of Pearland, Texas. His now-grown grandchildren called him "the sweetest man on earth" from the time they were very young. They are Holly Bracher Watson (Teddy), Taylor Bracher (John Brueck), Devon Silva (Sam), Tess Bracher and fiancé, DJ Dorrington, Josephine Cetha Blackburn, and a namesake, Jeremy Michael Rex Blackburn. He was overjoyed to become a great-grandfather twice in the last two years, to Octavia and then Rudy Silva. Hard-pressed by children and grandchildren to tell his proudest professional moment, he once admitted that a president of Raytheon Corporation introduced him at company headquarters in Massachusetts as one of the company's most brilliant engineers. With degrees in mathematics, engineering and management from Texas Tech University and The University of Texas at El Paso, however, he was far more comfortable working the hardest-possible math problems (for fun!) than talking about his accomplishments. Oh but he could tell a story. Jerry was born on March 16, 1933, raised in Lubbock, Texas, and spent summers with his grandparents in Cedarvale, Kansas, fully involved in the hard work of helping on the large family farm from a young age. As a little boy, he reached under a laying hen to find a snake coiled under her — a mistake he would never repeat again. Later jobs elsewhere included ranch work and, gruelingly, wheat harvests in the broiling Kansas sun. In ranching he discovered there is nothing to be done but stick to a cow pony in a roundup, they do the all the thinking and all the work — but beware of legs like jelly at the end of the day, and brutal teasing from the other more seasoned cowboys. On the first day of harvesting, he was so hungry when the farmer's wife served lunch, he scarfed down the only two foods in all the world that he despised — macaroni and cheese and pecan pie — and would love them for the rest of his life. (Perhaps best to keep some other stories in the family, such as one involving an empty, idling police car and a teen friend in small-town Lubbock, circa 1948.) His sense of humor in the most unexpected moments would leave the family and any group he was with gasping with laughter. He served in the U.S. Army and the Texas National Guard for 17 years, and it was in this capacity that his prowess in math and engineering were discovered. Soon after he began his service, he was employed by Raytheon at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and would meet Jean Alarcon in nearby El Paso. In more footloose days prior to their engagement, he came to know and deeply love Juarez, Mexico, just across the border. He traveled Mexico extensively on weekends and vacations. He was able to see numerous musical greats he was crazy about — such as Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne — perform in Juarez, as it was a major celebrity destination at the time. Jerry completed his master's degree in night classes at UTEP while both working long hours at White Sands and devoting himself to his home and family. Like his mother and his wife, he was quite the dancer. He and Jean raised their children in El Paso, until his transfer to the Raytheon plant in Bristol. His children had been greatly influenced by his love of horses, and El Paso's Country Western dancing scene, a family affair at the time, in the heyday of Urban Cowboy's juggernaut. In his 37 years with Raytheon, he traveled the world for work, including to Kuwait, Egypt, Italy, Germany, Belgium, and remote Alaska in the dead of winter, when it was dark 24 hours a day and the temperature regularly dropped to -60F. His wife and children joined him in Germany for several months when his work took him there for too long, and were themselves able to see many amazing sights in countries all over Europe. After his retirement, he gave his all to his grandchildren, babysitting, carpooling, hours of help with homework and extracurricular activities, sharing his loves of fishing, trains, awesome man-made structures, and nature, often at Steele Creek Park. He especially delighted in taking them to buy their school supplies every year, and supported every academic, musical, and sports effort, in every way. Try as he might, he couldn't hide his pride and joy in them over the years, as he listened to each update of their lives whenever they came to their grandparents' table. Quietly he would get a button-busting smile, thinking no one would see, and his eyes would water because his heart was so full. His family knew to sneak a glance to see that look, and always did. For years, he also was the most helpful and adoring son to his mother Cetha Blackburn, who preceded him in death, and tutored students in math for the Bristol Virginia and Tennessee public school systems and on the college level at King University. He loved and was loved by a large, close, extended family of in-laws, nieces and nephews, and their children, whom he and wife Jean saw often, though they are spread all over the country. Jerry was a decades-long member of St. Anne's Catholic Church, where he had many beloved friends and where he devoted hours of service to both church and school. Many of those hours were spent alongside Jean with the St. Anne's Hispanic community, whose culture he had held in such high esteem for most of his life. The family would like to thank each and every dear friend, his exceptional medical teams, as well as caregivers Casey Good, Tammy Fleenor, Jeannie Robinette, Marty Rodriguez and Lisa Smith. Thanks also to special friends Donna Sieber; Kathy Sardina; Rudy and Leigh Anne Bracher; Lupe Morales; Rosie Palacios; Beatriz Palacio-Bucio and Carolyn Willis. A last story, to close: Recently, on the dancefloor at the reception for a granddaughter's wedding, Jerry's wife, children, grandchildren and their spouses from near and far were able to encircle his wheelchair, hold his hands, and dance and sing as loud as possible to — appropriately — a cover of "Country Roads." He smiled and tapped his feet, looking around at the loves of his life, all spiffed up and joining him in one of his greatest joys. There they were again, the proud full heart, eyes watering with love. The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm on Sunday, July 10, 2022 until a Rosary is recited at 7:00 pm at Oakley-Cook Funeral Home and Crematory. The public is invited to attend. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at Saint Anne Catholic Church, at 10:00 am on Monday, July 11, 2022 with enurnment to follow in the columbarium at Saint Anne Catholic Church Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Saint Anne Catholic School or to Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital in memory of Jerry Blackburn.