James Blackburn

James Spink Blackburn, 48 a native of Uriah and resident of Bay Minette, died Dec. 30, 1996, in Bay Minette. He was employed with SS Contractors.
Survivors include one son, Jerry Ray Blackburn of Bay Minette; one daughter, Jennifer Lynn Benton of Bay Minette; four grandchildren, Ashley Benton, Megan Gill, Colton Blackburn and James Dillion Blackburn, all of Bay Minette; his mother, Margie Giddens of Bay Minette; three brothers, Carson Blackburn of Fairhope, P. J. Blackburn of Bay Minette and Glenn Harris of Mobile; and three sisters, Margie Williams and Patricia Crow, both of Bay Minette and Rose Mary Harris of Mobile.

Services were held Jan. 3 at Norris Funeral Home's Bay Minette chapel with the Rev. Charles McMillan and Sister Helen Stewart officiating. Burial was in Pine Grove Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Joe Williamson, Larry Williams, Steve English, Jeff Whatley, Kevin Galloway and Gene Racker. Alternates were Charles Jacobson, Bo-Bo Whatley and Tommy Brown.

Source: The Fairhope Courier, January 8, 1997

A dead man found Monday afternoon behind a Bay Minette business apparently had suffered a heart attack while driving, officials said Tuesday.
Bay Minette Police Chief Bruce Lovett on Tuesday identified the man as James Blackburn, 48, of Bay Minette. Blackburn's identity was not immediately released after his body was found because his next of kin had not yet been notified.
Baldwin County Coroner Huey Mack Sr. said an autopsy performed Tuesday by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences confirmed the cause of death as a heart attack.

Blackburn's body was found on the ground beside his pickup truck near a business on South Hoyle Avenue in Bay Minette at about 2 p.m. Monday. Hannis Rider, the delivery driver who found Blackburn's body, said Monday that the man's truck appeared to have collided with a trailer behind the business, but the impact did not appear to be serious enough to cause life-threatening injury. "The theory is he may have been having a heart attack and pulled in there to get help and there was nobody there." Mack said.

No funeral arrangements had been announced.

Source: Mobile Press Register, January 1, 1997

Transcribed by Dawn Conway. Please visit our main page at Genealogy Trails: Baldwin County, Alabama