Reatha Jewell Blackerby

Reatha Jewell Blackerby was born on November 24, 1925. As Reatha told it: “it was Thanksgiving and my dad expected a turkey. He wasn’t disappointed” The youngest of ten children born to Oscar and Madge Russell, Reatha was raised in Colp, Illinois. Oscar was a coal miner and Madge took care of the home. Reatha loved her mother deeply and adored her father.

Reatha loved growing up in Southern Illinois and stated that if things had been up to her she could have spent her entire life there. However, soon after graduating high school a war broke out. Reatha went to Michigan to live with a sister and got a job at General Motors where she learned to weld and help manufacture “ducks” for the military. It was in Michigan that she met a young marine home on leave. What she said attracted her to Alba (Al) Blackerby was his kindness and his smile. The couple married in 1944 in Santa Barbara, California where Al was then stationed. After the war Al and Reatha returned to Michigan to be near family and friends.

In 1954 a son was born and due to health concerns and job opportunities the three moved to Arizona, Washington, Montana and eventually to San Jose, California. Al went to work for International Business Machines (IBM) and Reatha worked for a local school district. Upon retirement Reatha and Al moved to Kingston, Washington where Al started a successful construction business and Reatha pursued her love for oil painting. After Al’s death in 2011, Reatha needed to be closer to family and she came to live in Visalia with her son.

Reatha died peacefully in her sleep on December 1, 2017. She is survived by her son, Daniel Kelly Blackerby, daughter-in-law, Shirley Blackerby; grandchildren, Chris Blackerby and Allison Cerone.; and great-grandson, Riker Cerone. Those who knew her will miss the love and care she had for family and friends, her many stories about her childhood and the people she knew and how she would laugh at her own jokes and the “silly” songs that she would entertain us with.

A memorial service will be held at the Lodge at Quail Park in Visalia on December 20, 2017 at 11:00 AM. The family requests that any financial donations in Reatha’s name be given to CLIP-Arts, c/o Christ Lutheran Church, 3830 West Tulare Avenue Visalia, California 93277.

Thanks be to God.

Arrangements entrusted to Miller Memorial Chapel, 1120 W. Goshen Ave., Visalia, CA (559) 732-8371.