James Kentchen (Ken) Blackman, professional engineer and avid Scottish dancer, died October 16, 2008. He was 86. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Greenville. Born in Lydia, South Carolina, Ken Blackman was the only son of Junius Law Blackman and Minnie Ruth Bryan. He graduated from the Citadel in engineering in 1946. As a young Army lieutenant in World War II, he commanded units going island to island in the Pacific implementing the Japanese surrender. In the Korean War, he was awarded a Silver Star for his service as an artillery forward observer. Mr. Blackman worked as a structural engineer with the JE Sirrine Company in Greenville for 37 years until his retirement in 1984. He was a member of the South Carolina National Guard and was one of the founders of Greenville’s Church of the Redeemer, where he served for many years as vestryman, lay reader and occasional choir member. He was a founding member of the Saint Andrews Society of Upper South Carolina and frequently, clad in a Clan Gunn kilt, was active in doings of the state’s Scottish community. Mr. Blackman was predeceased by his wife of 41 years, Geraldine Denny Blackman; daughter, Meriden Elizabeth Blackman; and grandson, Lewis Wardlaw Haskell Blackman. He is survived by second wife, Judith Pearson Blackman of Deerfield Beach, Florida; son, LaBarre Wolfe Blackman of Columbia, South Carolina; and granddaughter, Eliza Winslow Haskell Blackman. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lewis Blackman Fund, Central Carolina Community Foundation, 2711 Middleburg Dr., Suite 213, Columbia, SC 29204. Published in The Greenville News: 12-19-2008 Tags: 1943
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