John Robert Blankinship

John Robert Blankinship died in Houston, Texas, on Friday, January 13, 2017, after a brief illness. He was born in 1942 in East St. Louis, Illinois, and grew up in Belleville, Illinois. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a photographer from 1968 to 1971 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California; Johnston Atoll; and the Canal Zone.

Afterwards, John enrolled at Brooks Institute of Photography, Santa Barbara, California, on the G.I. Bill. He earned a Bachelor of Professional Arts degree. From there, he started work as a photographer at Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories in Richland, Washington, where he met his future wife Ann Roberta Larson.

John and Ann moved to Houston, where John worked for several employers before retiring after 23 years at ExxonMobil as a technical photographer. John enjoyed tennis, vegetable gardening, and long camping trips all over the United States and Canada with Ann. He made many scenic photographs during these travels.

John is predeceased by his parents William Henry and Lilian Blankinship and by his brother William. He is survived by his wife Ann of 40 years, his daughter Sherry Elizabeth Harris of Palmdale, California, and his brother-in-law Allen Larson of Dallas, Texas. He is also survived by his cousins Michaela Beckwith of Bronston, Kentucky; John Beckwith and wife Marcia of Fairview Heights, Illinois; Larry Watson and wife Pat of Negley, Ohio; Jim Blankinship and wife Peg of San Diego, California; and Robert Beckwith and wife Dawn of Hamburg, Illinois.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nature Conservancy, 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, Virginia 22203-1606.