John Spencer Blackketter, Jr. of Benton City, died Saturday, March 8, 2008, at home.  He was born September 24, 1911 in Leedey, Oklahoma to John Spencer Blackketter, Sr. and Lola Slough Blackketter.

John was preceded in death by his wife, Edith Ouimette Blackketter; son, Leon Dean Blackketter; great grandson, Matthew Blackketter; 2 brothers and 2 sisters.

He is survived by daughter, Rae Loudermilk; son, Dale Blackketter and wife, Janet; daughter, Rena Jones and husband, Paul; son, John Blackketter III; 16 grandchildren, 23 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren.

He was a veteran of WWII.  He served in Alaska, the island of Attu and Dutch Harbor.  He was an honorary member of the American Legion chapter in Westville, OK.

John met Edith in October 1944, and they were married December 20, 1944.  They had 57 wonderful years together.

As we were growing up in L.A., Dad was Uncle Johnny to every kid on the block.  All the broken toys made their way to his shop where he could fix them and make everything better.

He worked for Concore Drills, Inc. his entire working career building exploratory drills for testing dams and bridges and various structures for concrete strength.

After retiring at age 63, he did a few different things for a few years but ended up returning to Oklahoma and working on a cattle ranch owned by an old high school friend, Ernest and Maxine Buffington.  He so loved Oklahoma and living out in the country.  All the grandkids got to go spend a summer on the ranch after their 12th birthday – something they still talk about with many smiles.

As Edith’s health deteriorated and he needed more help, they moved to Washington and lived with their daughter.  Edith passed away March 9, 2002 after 2 wonderful years and added memories, and now Dad is gone too.  We miss them both.

Graveside Services will be at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, 2008, in Evergreen Cemetery, Benton City.

Visitation will be at Einan’s Funeral Home from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity or local hospice house.