On Monday, Sept 25th, Tom Blankenship met his Heavenly Father face to face. He was 76 years young. He was met at the gates by his father Rollie, mother Dorothy and wife and mother of his daughters, Sandra. Tom began his journey in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on September 5th 1941. Attended the University of Arkansas and then became a United States Marine. He returned home to McGehee, Arkansas to operate the family ready mix concrete business until moving to Tulsa in 1983 to work for Oral Roberts Ministries. In 1989 he started a carpet cleaning and restoration business which he ran for his last 28 years. Throughout Toms life he volunteered with his church, Victory Christian Center, and showed the love of Jesus throughout his interactions with the people he met. He loved God, family, friends and country and spent his life serving those that he met. He valued the relationships with customers and always went above and beyond to do his best. Many know Tom from his business, but few know how much he truly valued their friendship. He never met a stranger. He would always say, "I will wear out long before I rust out" and anyone that knew him could say that was certainly the case. He was one of the hardest working individuals you would ever meet and would accredit that to being "old school." His wife, Dee Blankenship, son Thomas Blankenship and daughter-in-law Shelby Blankenship, daughters Andrea Greene and Ashley Blankenship, sister Rae Burris, grandsons Bruce Lucas and Cole Rehburg, and granddaughters Baylor and Raleigh Blankenship, are all looking forward to seeing him again and know when it's our time, Tom will meet them at the gates. You will never meet another like Tom. God broke the mold when he made you, my friend. I leave you with one of his favorite quotes and couldn't be more fitting for his life...... "We don't stop playing because we get old, we get old because we stop playing." You Tom, are forever young. Semper-Fi!

Fitzgerald Southwood Colonial Chapel, 918-291-3500.