Manilla Belle (Huddleston) Blackwood
September 16, 1904 — May 20, 2011
Manilla Blackwood
1904—2011
Manilla Belle Huddleston Blackwood, resident of Bolivar, former resident of the Somerville Community and wife of the late Clarence Grady Blackwood died Friday evening, May 20, 2011 at the Pine Meadows HealthCare Center in Bolivar. She was 106 years of age and remained mentally alert until her recent illness.
Services Celebrating the Life of Mrs. Blackwood were conducted at 1:30 P.M. Wednesday, May 25 th at the Graveside with Mr. Charles Frost of Bolivar, Pine Meadows Chaplain, officiating. Interment followed in the Somerville City Cemetery. Arrangements were provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes—Main Chapel of Somerville.
Mrs. Blackwood was born September 16, 1904 in Choctaw County near Ackerman, Mississippi. She was the daughter of the late Maggie D. Ray Huddleston and the late William Daniel Huddleston. She was educated in the Louisville, Mississippi Public School System and was married April 19, 1920 to Clarence Grady Blackwood, who preceded her in death on October 14, 1984. In earlier years, Mrs. Blackwood and her husband owned and operated a bakery. They were residents of Jackson, Tennessee before moving to the Somerville Community where they resided for a number of years.
A Christian and a person devoted to her family and Christian values, Mrs. Blackwood was one of the oldest residents of the Fayette and Hardeman County areas. She attended the First United Methodist Church while residing in Somerville and in recent years received much pleasure from being a part of the Christian Ministry provided by Pine Meadows. Mrs. Blackwood enjoyed music throughout her life and was pleased to be a part of the Blackwood Family of Choctaw County, Mississippi, a name associated with Southern Gospel Music for many years.
Mrs. Blackwood is survived by her sons: Grady Lloyd Blackwood of Murfreesboro, TN and Jimmie C. Blackwood of Maryville, TN, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
The family requests that memorials be directed to the First Baptist Church, 826 Market Street, Bolivar, TN 38008.
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