BLANTON, Deborah “Debbie” Mae
Deborah “Debbie” Mae Blanton, 72, of Cedartown, Georgia, passed away Saturday, April 15, 2023. She was born in Fernandina Beach, Florida, on August 7, 1950, the daughter of Kitty Blanton and the late Lamar “F.L.” Blanton.
She graduated from Tift County High School in 1968, attended, and received her associate’s degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1970. Later, she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in education from West Georgia College.
She taught first grade in Red Bud, Georgia, prior to moving to Cedartown and finished her 30 years in regular and special education at West Side Elementary.
Her most important job to her was teaching Sunday School at Kresge United Methodist Church, where she was a member.
In addition to her father, she was preceded in death by a nephew, James Ernest Blanton, Jr.
Debbie leaves behind to enjoy memories her mother, Kitty Blanton; her sister and brother-in-law, Nona & Brian Smith; her brother and sister-in-law, Ernie & April Blanton; her nieces and nephews: Amanda & Paul Duke, Tara & Chris Thomason, Caleb & Katie Smith, Noah & Morgan Smith, Daniel & Michaela Smith, Katie & Cody Cannon, Natalie Blanton, Cody Justus, and Alex Blanton.
But, the “apple of her eye” were her great nieces and nephew, Gabby Thomason, Maddie & Jax Duke, and Avery Smith. She is also survived by her dear friends, Lynn & Charlie Self.
Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday, April 19, 2023, at 2:00 PM from Martin & Hightower Heritage Chapel with Rev. Ed Dickins officiating. Interment will follow in Carroll Memory Gardens, with Rev. Darrell Sumner presiding. The following gentlemen will be pallbearers: Daniel Smith, Noah Smith, Caleb Smith, Chris Thomason, Paul Duke, Alex Blanton, Cody Cannon, Cody Justus, and Mike Thompson. Seated as honorary pallbearers will be Amanda Duke, Tara Thomason, Katie Cannon, Natalie Blanton, Maddie Duke, Gabby Thomason, Avery Smith, Morgan Smith, Katie Smith, and Michaela Smith.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM, and again on Wednesday from 1:00 PM until the funeral hour.
Messages of condolences can be sent to the family at www.martin-hightower. com. Martin and Hightower Heritage Chapel has charge of the arrangements.
SMILE BECAUSE HE LIVED
You can shed tears that he is gone, or you can smile because he lived. You can close your eyes and pray that he will come back, or you can open your eyes and see all that he has left. Your heart can be empty because you can’t see him, or you can be full of the love that you shared. You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday, or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday. You can remember him and only that he is gone, or you can cherish his memory and let it live on. You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn back, or you can do what he would want: Smile, open your eyes, love and go on.
— Author Unknown
“Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen ... yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.”
— Bradley Whitford
Words, however kind, can’t mend your heartache, but those who care and share your loss wish you comfort and peace of mind. May you find strength in the love of family and in the warm embrace of friends.
— Author Unknown