Janette Cox Blackwell

Janette Cox Blackwell (85) of Columbia, SC passed away on Tuesday, November 11th, 2025 at Lexington Community Hospice House-Agape house. She was born on March 27th, 1940 in Conway, SC. She was the daughter of the late Austin Bardy and Maude Watts Cox. She is survived by her husband, Lester J. Blackwell, Jr., her daughter Blair Holloman and her husband Hal of Greenville, NC, along with their children, Luke and his wife Taylor, Zeke, Jessie, and Maggie, her sister Carolyn Stimens of Columbia, SC, and her brother Roger Cox of Murrells Inlet, SC as well as several nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by siblings N.J. Cox, Bonnelle Harreleson, Princess Anne Gentry, Linwood Cox, Bobby Cox, and Sara Lynn Olson.

Janette grew up in Conway, SC as a farmers daughter, working the fields of rural Horry County. She was a National Honors Society graduate from Conway High School in 1958 where she participated in plays such as “Tom Sawyer” and “The Wizard of Oz”. She went on to Winthrop College where she earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1962 and furthered her education with a Masters of Arts degree in 1970.

She taught at Mecklingbury High School in North Carolina then moved to Airport High School in Columbia, SC. From there, she went on to teach History at the Department of Juvenile Justice. Jan was a lover of all things history and musicals such as Oklahoma and South Pacific. She enjoyed needlework, where she excelled at cross stitch, and was an avid reader.

The family would like to give a special Thank You to Lexington Community Hospice House, Agape Hospice, and a personal Thank You to nurses Jessica Shaw and Kim Rice who work at Heart of Hospice.

Services will be held at First Baptist Church, 1306 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201 at 1:00 p.m. followed by a Celebration of Life at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the library of First Baptist Church.