Louie Eugene Blankenship

Louie E. Blankenship, 89, of Montgomery passed away on April 6, 2014. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ramona; a son, Richard L. Blankenship and a daughter, Riki B. Franklin (Buck) and was predeceased by his son, Jeffrey H. Blankenship. He is also survived by grandsons, Richard Scott Blankenship (Jennifer), Connor B. Franklin and Tyler B. Franklin and one great-granddaughter, Railyn Blankenship and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was a combat veteran of World War II, flying combat missions off the flight deck of the USS Hornet as a radioman and tail gunner of U.S. Navy torpedo planes in the Western Pacific theater. He remained active in the USS Hornet Association.

After the war, he earned Alabama CPA certificate number 336 and was one of the early prominent members of the profession. He was highly respected within the Alabama CPA community and was the epitome of integrity and ethics in accounting. He was a founding partner of legacy firm Blankenship, Lamar Gilliland & Hicks which later merged with Wilson, Price, Barranco & Billingsley, PC, now merged with Warren Averett, LLC.

Graveside services will be performed by Elder Robin Swanson on Wednesday, April 9, 2014 at 1:00pm at Greenwood Cemetery with military honors. Visitation will be from 12:00pm-1:00pm at Leak-Memory Chapel prior to the service. The pallbearers will be D. Kyle Johnson, Carl A. Barranco, Tranum Fitzpatrick, Richard M. Stabler, Charles A. Jordan and Greg Spencer. Honorary pallbearers are Richard E. Hanan, Thomas P. Gilliland, Frank V. Lamar, Jr. and Thomas H. Hicks, Jr. and the crew of the USS Hornet. On line condolences may be made at www.LEAK-MC.com