Garland E. Blanton, 79, passed away April 15 near Troy, Kansas. Garland was born Jan. 6, 1942, in Severance to Floyd Sr. and Mary (Simpson) Blanton of Troy. He attended school in Troy.
Garland joined the Army at age 17. He was stationed in Germany for two years during the Berlin Conflict. He worked for 21 years for the city of Troy as a maintenance worker and electrical lineman and Sprague Excavating for 10 years.
Garland married Mary Jane Sells and had daughters Kelly and Sonya and an adopted daughter, Jani Blanton. They were later divorced. He then married Cindy Jones and had children Jeremy and Danielle. They were later divorced. He was a baptized member of St. Johns Lutheran Church in Bendena.
Garland served in the Kansas Army National Guard for 20 years. He belonged to American Legion Post #55. He started the Sons of the American Legion group while serving as vice commander in Troy. He was also a member of the VFW Post #5531 in Wathena.
Garland enjoyed life as a skilled bow hunter and avid collector of Native American artifacts, along with his seasonal passion of mushroom hunting. Known as Cowboy by his St. Joseph friends, he also enjoyed dancing, fishing, metal detecting and traveling the backroads of Doniphan County. While bow hunting at Eagle Springs in 1973 he came upon actor Ryan ONeal in his car waiting for the film crew of Paper Moon. They were both stunned to run into each other.
He was preceded in death by his parents, daughter Janie Blanton and brother Harold Dean Blanton. He is survived by his brothers Floyd Gus Jr. (Donna), Wathena; and Dwayne (Peggy) Blanton, Oskaloosa.
He is also survived by his children: Kelly Blanton, Troy; Sonya Waggoner, White Cloud; Jeremy Blanton, Bendena; and Danielle Blanton, Moray; grandchildren Tad Blanton; Keidi, Kameron, and Kody Duncan; Brittain Waggoner; Lane and Gunnar Collins; Jacob, Cassidy, Derek and Vanessa Blanton; and Josh and Justin Losson; great grandchildren Madelyn, Kalyn, Jacelyn, Jaxs, Jayden, Kade, Kinzleigh, Weston, Izzy and one great-great granddaughter, Ava Rose.
Garlands wishes were to be cremated under the direction of the Harman Rohde Funeral Home, Troy. There is no scheduled public visitation. A graveside memorial service with a military honor guard will be held May 1 at 3 p.m. at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Troy. A memorial fund has been set up for funeral expenses. Please send to Harman Rohde Funeral Home P.O. Box 185 Troy, Kansas 66087 or Jeremy Blanton 108 Willow Lane, Bendena, Ks. 66008.
On-line condolences can be left at https://www.harmanrohde.com/obituary/garland-blanton