Asa Daniel Blackburn

He was born Sept. 25, 1927, to Julius Walter and Lottie Mae Lael Blackburn. Mr. Blackburn’s ancestors had lived in the area of Catawba and Lincoln counties since at least the 1700s. The land where Mr. Blackburn made his home had been i¬n the family since the mid-1800s.

Only three of the nine children born to Walter and Lottie Blackburn lived to adulthood. Mr. Blackburn grew up with two older brothers, Jacob F. Blackburn and Thomas H. Blackburn, whom he adored and idolized. They preceded him in death.

Mr. Blackburn was married for 64 years to the former Betty Crump of Hickory, N.C. Mrs. Blackburn, a longtime Catawba County teacher and school board member, survives her husband along with their four children, Teresa Peterson and husband, Pete, of Pawleys Island, S.C.; Pamela Nelson and husband, Christopher, of Clayton, N.C.; Richard Blackburn and wife, Peggy, of Gastonia, N.C., and Timothy Blackburn of Newton, N.C. He is also survived by four grandsons, Will Peterson and wife, Rachel, of Raleigh, N.C.; Drew Peterson and wife, Pam, of Asheville, N.C.; Marshall Walker and wife, Lauren, of Charlotte; and Benjamin Blackburn of Gastonia. Mr. Blackburn’s grandson Jake Nelson died in 2009. Also surviving are three great-granddaughters, Roxanne Peterson, Ramona Peterson, and Violet Peterson. Mr. Blackburn also is survived by nieces, nephews, cousins, and sisters- and brothers-in-law, who were dear to him

His family thanks his caregivers Marsha Reid, Bushra Terborg, and Taisha Stephens for their loyal service to him.

Mr. Blackburn attended Blackburn School and Lenoir-Rhyne College. He served a short time in the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II. He held a variety of jobs as a young man, including waiter, shoe salesman, furniture and box factory supervisor, cattleman and farmer, ambulance and hearse driver, and funeral director.

His long and varied career in business afforded Mr. Blackburn the adventure that he had dreamed of as a boy reading the stories of Richard Halliburton. His entrepreneurial spirit led him to own a factory that made corrugated cardboard boxes. Later, he found his true vocation selling lumber and veneers to the furniture industry. He traveled more than 100 times to Guatemala and many times to other countries in Central and South America and in Europe. He traveled deep into the tropical forests and became an expert in wood species desired by furniture makers in North Carolina and beyond. In 1990, he started his own lumber and veneer business, Blackburn International, which he sold in 2000. He retired from business in 2002.

Mr. Blackburn was also keenly interested in genealogy and traced his family lineage back six generations. Among his family members were potters in the Catawba Valley tradition, and Mr. Blackburn himself became a potter after his retirement.

A lifelong member of Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church near his family home, Mr. Blackburn will be buried in the church cemetery. A funeral is scheduled at 4 p.m., Sunday, April 24, 2016, to be officiated by the Rev. David McHale, pastor of Wesley Chapel. The family will receive friends at Wesley Chapel before the service from 3:00 to 3:45 p.m

Pallbearers will be sons-in-law Pete Peterson and Chris Nelson, and grandsons Will Peterson, Drew Peterson, Marshall Walker, and Ben Blackburn.

Memorial donations may be made to Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, 2613 Wesley Chapel Road, Newton, NC 28658.

Condolences may be sent to the Blackburn family at www.willisreynoldsfh.com.

Willis-Reynolds Funeral Home & Crematory in Newton is honored to serve the Blackburn family.