Cecil Blankenship was born on December 28, 1933, in Diggins, Missouri, to Charlie L. and Artie Belle (Young) Blankenship. Cecil passed away peacefully with his daughters at his side on August 22, 2024.
Cecil lived most of his life in Webster County, Missouri. He worked for the Seymour Bank for 62 years, starting as a teller and being promoted through the years to Senior Vice President and Board of Directors, retiring in 2022.
Cecil was a people person. He was proud to be one of the founders of the Seymour Apple Festival and worked there for decades, enjoying corn dogs every chance he got. He spent most of his Saturdays working for the Rudolph Auction Company and this began his love of collecting.
Cecil was preceded in death by his wife, Wanda, and stepson, Brent Cravens; his parents; his brothers, Asa T. Blankenship, Otho Blankenship, and Everett Cantrell; his sisters, Matilda “Tudie” Hurst, Margie Comstock, and Eva McNish.
Cecil is survived by his children from his first wife, Alice Blankenship: Cathy Laird and husband, Terry, Kaye Higginbotham and husband, Ed, Lucinda “Cindy” Estes and husband, Joe; his grandchildren, Amber (Laird) Beck, Hayley (Laird) Norton, Charles Higginbotham, Sarah (Higginbotham) Pulapaddi, and Chelsea (Estes) Shoemake; and great-grandchildren, Noah, Oliva, Atley, Arlo, Alice Aries, Jonathan, Owen, Dilerah, and Benjamin; nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.
Memorial donations in Cecil’s name can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Seymour Senior Center, Seymour, Missouri.
