GASTON – Funeral services for Thomas Leonard Blakely, 84, will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 25, 2019 at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, West Columbia Chapel, with interment to follow in Southland Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2019 at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 107 W. Park Blvd., Ste. 220, Columbia, SC 29210 or American Cancer Society, PO Box 42040, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.
Mr. Blakely was born August 26, 1934 in Taylors, SC and passed away on Sunday, August 18, 2019. He was a son of the late William Blakely and Myrtle Masters Blakely. Mr. Blakely served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict, and met his wife while stationed at Lincoln Air Force Base in Nebraska. He worked in the flooring industry. He was a man who never said no, was very forgiving, believed in his faith and loved his family.
Mr. Blakely is survived by his daughters, Priscilla Ann Mock, Nancy Blakely-Spencer; son-in-law, David Spencer; daughter, Alicia Howe; son, Thomas Leonard Blakely II, several grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews to whom he was known as “Uncle Buster.” He was predeceased by his wife of 38 years, Meredith Darlene Blakely; daughter, Janice Porter; granddaughters, Anastasia and Kim; grandson, Luke; great-granddaughter, Hope; great-grandson, Isaac and siblings, Irene, Lorene, Jeanette, Carl and Harold.
