By Heather Lende
Former resident Thomas Edward "Tom" Blackhurst died of lung
cancer Jan. 2.
He passed away peacefully at his home in Kanorado, Kan. with wife Betty
and sons T.J. and Carl at his side. He was 69 and had been in poor health since breaking
his back here ten years ago.
Tom was a retired teacher and Betty taught elementary school when the
Blackhursts arrived here in 1990.
Blackhurst remodeled their home, and enjoyed fishing, hunting,
gardening and amateur archaeology. "Tom had more stories than anyone I knew, he was
quite a talker and he was there for his family, he loved them very much," said friend
Jenny Lyn Smith.
The Blackhursts left Haines in 1998 to join family in Colorado.
Carl Blackhurst, who won two Alaska high school cross-country
championships, said his father traveled to many of his most important meets, including the
Olympic trials. "My dad was super supportive. He really liked the fact that I was a
runner and able to compete where I did."
Tom Blackhurst was the youngest of James Herbert and Edna Young
Blackhurst’s children. He was born Sept. 3, 1938 in Des Moines, Iowa, graduated from
Urbandale High School in 1956 and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Drake
University in 1960. He became a teacher, working his first job in a one-room schoolhouse
at Jackson Hole, Wyo.
He last taught in Angoon, where the Blackhursts moved in 1981, living
there before moving to Haines. He spent most of his career in Colorado, where he met Betty
Ann Larson. They married in 1970. Tom adopted her children, Mike, Mark, and Kathy; they
had two more, Carl and T.J.
Blackhurst was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints. His parents, sister Bonnie Wilcox, brother Bill and son Mark preceded him in
death.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by sons Mike of Anchorage, T.J.
and wife Sara of Rye, Colo., Carl and wife Amber of Sitka, daughter Kathy Cox and husband
Curtis of Orem, Utah, grandchildren Feris, Timmy, Tommy, Branden, Natasha Deg, and Rachel,
a brother, three sisters and numerous nieces.
Following a funeral Jan. 7, he was buried in the family plot in
Alamosa, Colo.
Betty Blackhurst may be reached at P.O. Box 217, Kanorado, Kan. 67741 or
bablackhurst@hotmail.com.
