Dr William Hodge Blackburn

Dr. William "Bill" H. Blackburn, Camden, TN Funeral services for Dr. William H. Blackburn, age 85, will be held at 10:00 A.M. in the First United Methodist Church in Camden, TN, with Father David Yancey officiating. Dr. Blackburn died Wednesday, April 4, 2007, in his home in Camden. He was a prominent physician, war veteran, public servant and a life-long conservationist. He was born February 3, 1922 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, son of the late Will and Katie Berryman Blackburn. Dr. Blackburn served as a Frogman for the U.S. Navy during WWII and is honored at the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Vero Beach, Florida. He sailed on the USS Coral Sea during the Korean conflict and retired from the military as a Lieutenant in 1952. He was a graduate of the University of the South at Sewanee and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he was president of his graduating class and later chief resident. Dr. Blackburn was an avid sportsman and in 1967 was appointed by Governor Buford Ellington to the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission. He later served as a County Commissioner for many years. He played a critical role in the opening of the Benton County Hospital in 1968. He served in many leadership roles at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in New Johnsonville. He is survived by his wife, Juanita; son Stan (Laura) of Atlanta, GA; daughters Karen Wesson (Jim) of Tuscumbia, AL; Betsy Speer (Mike) of Humtsville, AL; Amy Latendresse (Benny) of Camden, TN; Angie Blackburn (Stan) of Camden, TN; Kathy Hillyard (Logan) of Lexington, KY; 13 Grandchildren and 1 Great Grandchild. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Dr. W.H. Blackburn Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Bank of Camden.