Richard Coleman Blanton Jr.

Richard Coleman Blanton, Jr., gentle soul, brilliant mathematician, unassuming hero to his country and to his family, and beloved husband, father, and grandfather died on February 24, 2014. Dick was born in Birmingham, AL in 1923 to Kathleen and Richard Blanton. He moved to College Park, GA at the age of 14 to attend Georgia Military Academy. He completed high school at 16 as Valedictorian. He received an appointment to West Point, but missed his entrance exam because of an outbreak of measles. Then the war began. To complete his ROTC credentials, Dick stayed at GMA for two more years as a math teacher and their first Cadet Colonel. His love of math directed both his military and civilian careers. Because he could calculate the trajectories of heavy artillery in his head, once he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, Dick was assigned to be an infantry instructor. He was a natural teacher with a love of learning—ultimately he raised two college professors---but he was also a member of that greatest generation of young men determined to see action overseas. To get into the battle, he responded to a posting on the camp bulletin board that said “Are You Good at Math? If so, consider the Army Air Corps.” Dick submitted his application, but the competition between the Infantry and the Air Corps for strong math skills was so intense, his transfer request had to be escalated directly to General Hap Arnold, head of the Air Corps, to get approved. Once he settled into the Air Corps, Dick double-certified as a bombardier/navigator on the B-29 and flew dangerous missions in all parts of Asia for several years followed by service in Europe. By age 22 he achieved the rank of Captain. He won the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross with clusters, and the Campaign Medals for all theatres of war. After the war, he completed his Masters in Actuarial Science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Dick became a Consulting Actuary, a position he held at insurance companies in the US and Europe for the next four decades. After “retiring,” he bought and sold several businesses and continued working fulltime well into his 80s. Despite his mastery of computers, he continued to do the math in his head for as long as he could. Ultimately, Dick considered that case of measles that kept him out of West Point an unexpected blessing since it was during the unplanned extension at GMA that he met the love of his life, Catherine Berry. Dick was studious, quiet and steady. Catherine was--and still is---vibrant, expressive, and fun-loving. He loved to eat. She was a great cook. He liked to listen. She liked to talk. He liked to tell jokes. She liked to laugh. Of course, they were meant to be. For 68 years, these opposites made each other happy and created a fun-filled home for their two daughters Susan and Cindy. That home was always open to family, friends, neighbors, and much-pampered pets. Dick Blanton was always a gentle and loving soul, as likely to be found cradling a baby or a dog as a book. He convinced his daughters that they would see their pets in heaven because “it would not be heaven without them.” They believed him. After all, he was a member of the College Park Presbyterian Church for many decades where he served as both a Deacon and an Elder. He was a loving man, a generous host, the official historian of The Tomato Festival (no time for that story here), and a comedian with an endless supply of jokes for every occasion. Even after Alzheimer’s took its toll on his wonderfully complex brain, that gentle soul was unchanged. He continued to tell jokes, laugh freely, blow kisses to his wife, hug his daughters, thank his companions for their care, and enjoy a chocolate milkshake with a smile. He was preceded in death by his sister, Sue Blanton Vaughan and brother, Robert Lawrence Blanton. Survivors include his wife, Catherine; daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Randy Riner, Cindy and David Weeks; grandchildren, Jason and Lindsey Riner, Michael Riner, Richard Riner, Emily Weeks, Nick Weeks; sister-in-law, Dean Blanton; and a host of family, friends, companions, and pets who will miss him deeply. The family is especially grateful to St. Mary’s Hospice in Athens and for the companions who provided love and comfort in the last years of his life: Blanca, Catherine, Donna, Betty, Michelle, Janice, Gwen, Janie, and Ann. A celebration of his life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, 2014 at H.M. Patterson and Son, Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Road NE, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 with the family receiving visitors beginning at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.