Jack C. F. Blanton

BLANTON, JACK C. F. (1921~2002) Jack Blanton, former member of the Texas House of Representatives from Carrollton, passed away in his sleep on Saturday, October 12, 2002, after battling several illnesses. Born in 1921 in Shawnee, Kansas, he moved with his family to Carrollton in 1931 and graduated from Carrollton High School. In 1942, he married his childhood sweetheart, Marian Jackson Good. During World War II, he was employed by Texas Bitulithic, building airstrips for the war effort. A lifelong Democrat and United Methodist, Jack was elected the youngest mayor of Carrollton at the age of 25. After graduating from Southern Methodist University in 1955, he served three terms in the Texas State Legislature (1967-1972), during which time he successfully sponsored legislation for handicap accessibility and the establishment of the University of Texas at Dallas. He went on to serve as Legislative Liaison for the Texas Department of Human Services. In his long and active life, Jack was a farmer, a rancher, Editor-in-Chief of the Carrollton Chronicle, a sportsman, founder of First National Bank of Carrollton, manager of Lone Star Gas, Boy Scout leader, co-owner of the Blanton Grain Company, a 32nd Degree KCCH, and a member of the Carrollton and James A. Smith Masonic Lodges, President of Carrollton/Farmers Branch Rotary, and a member of the Red Cross, COSERVE, and Holy Covenant United Methodist Church. Later in his life, his love of family and genealogy took him all over Texas. He visited and photographed every courthouse in the state. Representative Blanton will not be buried in the Texas State Cemetery. His body will be laid to rest in the Furneaux Cemetery in Carrollton. Information taken from obituary, Austin American-Statesman, October 14, 2002.