Eighth Generation

9727. Rev. Leonard Wetzel Blackwell was born on 29 November 1905 in Rockcastle Co., KY. Leonard died at Montgomery Regional Hospital in Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., VA on 2 November 1990 and was buried at Sunset Cemetery in Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., VA on 4 November 1990 .^29342,29343

Obituary, The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Sat., Nov. 3, 1990, Metro Edition, Page A-4

Rev. Leonard Wetzel Blackwell, age 84, born November 29, 1905 in Rockbridge County, near Buena Vista died November 2, 1990 in Montgomery Regional Hospital.

A minister in the Church of the Brethren for nearly 50 years, Brother Leonard served the Lord starting in the free ministry at Waynesboro, Va. He went on to serve several churches after attending Bethany Bible College. His pastorates started in Newport News where he got the reputation of being the "Nail Pounding Preacher", having literally built the churches of Newport News, Norfolk, and Tacoma, Wash.

His ministry continued in Alberta, Canada; Middleton and Pontiac, Mich.; Danville, Rocky Mount, and Eagle Rock, Va. In retirement, he continued to serve as an evangelist in many revival meetings.

Surviving are his wife, Gladys Grimm Blackwell; four sisters, Nina Thompson, Stuart, Va.; Murrell Cox, Harrisonburg, Va.; Blanche Lynn and husband, Handsford, Christiansburg, Va.; Hazel Stanley and husband, Johnny, Georgetown, S.C.; two sisters-in-law, Virginia Stone and husband, Eugene; Betty L. Willis, all of Hagerstown, Md.

In place of flowers, friends are encouraged to make memorial gifts to the Christiansburg Church of the Brethren in his memory.

Funeral services will be 1:00 p.m. Sunday from the Christiansburg Church of the Brethren conducted by Brother Earl Stovall. Burial will be in Sunset Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 7:00 until 9:00 Saturday evening at the Richardson-Horne Funeral Home.

Rev. Leonard Wetzel Blackwell and Gladys Merita "Bunky" Grimm were married on 30 March 1935 in Hagerstown, Washington Co., MD. Gladys Merita "Bunky" Grimm was born on 6 September 1913 in Grottoes, Rockingham Co., VA. Gladys died on 27 January 2006 at the age of 92 at Washington County Hospital in Hagerstown, Washington Co., MD and was buried at Sunset Cemetery in Christiansburg, Montgomery Co., VA.²⁹³⁴⁴

Obituary, The Roanoke Times, Roanoke, VA, Sun., Feb. 12, 2006, New River Edition, Page NRV7

DEDICATED WIFE TRAVELED U.S. TO HELP START CHURCHES GLADYS "BUNKY" BLACKWELL 1913 - 2006

Faith is so powerful, the Bible says it can move mountains.

One local lady's faith in her husband and her church has become a moving legend to those who knew her.

Gladys "Bunky" Blackwell of Christiansburg died Jan. 27.

Together, she and the late Rev. Leonard Blackwell started three churches and served six more.

Born in Grottoes in 1913 to George and Emma Grimm, Gladys Blackwell married her husband, affectionately known as L.W., to his friends, in 1935. After their marriage, they lived in Grottoes and Waynesboro.

They were inseparable.

Gladys Blackwell worked in the silk mills and at Crompton Velvet Plant in Waynesboro with her husband.

In 1945, Leonard Blackwell decided that he would like to pursue the ministry.

"At first she didn't want to be a minister's wife," recalls a friend, the Rev. Don Peters of Christiansburg Church of the Brethren, a church Gladys Blackwell attended in her later years. "But he was dead set on it, so she supported him 100 percent."

Gladys Blackwell moved to Chicago and attended Bethany Bible School with her husband. Both worked part-time at Sears and Roebuck, until Leonard Blackwell was called to a church in Newport News in 1946.

"The people of the church had already begun meeting before they got there," said David Shumate, executive director of The Church of the Brethren.

"Newport News is close to the shipyards, so a lot of Brethrens moved there during World War II to help with the shipyards."

Leonard Blackwell became not only the first pastor, but also a building contractor for the sanctuary of the church.

"He not only started churches, he built them," said Shumate.

Blackwell was the contractor and carpenter for all three of the churches he and his wife started.

The church in Newport News, which became known as Ivy Farms Church of the Brethren, held its first service in its new sanctuary in 1948.

Gladys Blackwell immediately took on her role as a minister's wife.

"She was a very outgoing, hospitable woman. She worked with the women, the children, and the service ministries of the church, in addition to being a counsel and advisor to her husband," Shumate said.

"Back then, it wasn't acceptable for women to have leadership titles in the church, but today I think we would have called her something like 'director of christian education.' "

"Gladys and her husband were very close. She would go on lots of church visits with him. She really admired his work, and always followed right behind him," said Peters.

In 1953, the Blackwells "went across the water" to Norfolk and started a church there, which later merged with the United Church of Christ in 1970.

Together, the two denominations became known as Christian Church Uniting. However, the Blackwells left in 1956, and moved to Tacoma, Wash., to begin work on their third church.

There was already an existing congregation, but there was a need for a new building. Blackwell spearheaded this project.

"They were truly church planters," said Shumate. "They were free to move around because they had no children."

After founding three churches, the Blackwells served six other churches located in Irricana, Alberta, Canada; New Haven and Pontiac in Michigan; and Danville, Rocky Mount, and Eagle Rock in Virginia

"They were dedicated, committed Christian folk," said retired minister and friend Bill Stovall, who attended annual church conferences with the Blackwells.

In 1970, the Blackwells moved to Christiansburg, where they lived together for 20 years before Leonard Blackwell died in 1990.

"They were very close. Until he died, it was hard to think about one without the other," said Shumate.

"When he passed away, she really felt it," said Peters.

However, Gladys Blackwell continued to minister to the congregation she was a part of at that time, the Christiansburg Church of the Brethren.

She served on numerous church committees, and mentored teenaged youth until she was 80.

"One thing I remember about Gladys is that she was exceptionally wise about people," said Peters. "She was very good at figuring people out.

"She was always very concerned about how others felt and always offering an encouraging word."