Garland E. Blanton, 79, passed away April 15th near Troy, Kansas. Garland was born in Severance, KS to Floyd Sr. and Mary (Simpson) Blanton of Troy, KS on Jan. 6, 1942. He attended school in Troy. He joined the Army at age 17. He was stationed in Germany for 2 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. John’s Lutheran Church in Bendena.    

Garland served in the 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, Ks. He 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 Ryan O’Neill 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, Jr. “Gus” (Donna), Wathena, KS; Dwayne (Peggy) Blanton, Oskaloosa, KS.   

He is survived by his children: Kelly Blanton, Troy, KS; Sonya Waggoner, White Cloud, KS; Jeremy Blanton, Bendena, KS, and Danielle Blanton, Moray, KS; Grandchildren Tad Blanton, Keidi, Kameron, Kody Duncan, Brittain Waggoner, Lane and Gunnar Collins, Jacob, Cassidy, Derek, and Vanessa Blanton, Josh and Justin Losson. He had great- grandchildren: Madelyn, Kalyn, Jacelyn, Jaxs, Jayden, Kade, Kinzleigh, Weston, Izzy and one great-great granddaughter Ava Rose.   

Garland’s 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 will be held on May 1st  at 3pm with a military honor guard 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. www.harmanrohde.com