Dr. John William "Bill" Blanton, Jr.

Dr. John William Blanton, Jr., (Bill), 92, widower of Ann Harling Quattlebaum Blanton went home to Heaven early Tuesday morning, June 5, 2018. The family will receive friends on Friday, June 8 in J. HENRY STUHR, INC. MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL, 1494 Mathis Ferry Road from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. His Funeral Service will be held Saturday, June 9, 2018 in First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant, 681 McCants Drive at 1:00 p.m. Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, 604 Fort Johnson Road, James Island.

Born in Cowpens, SC on September 2, 1925, Bill was the son of the late John William Blanton and Odessa Weber Blanton. He attended Wofford College but prior to completion of his premedical studies at Wofford College, he served his country in the United States Navy as a medical corpsman in Shanghai. After graduation from Wofford he began medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). While in medical school, Bill met Ann Harling Quattlebaum, a nursing student at MUSC and Roper Hospital. In 1951, they married and completed their studies at MUSC. Bill received his medical degree and Ann received her nursing degree in 1952. Bill began his General Medicine practice in Chesnee, SC that same year. In 1963, he applied to and was accepted to the Residency program in the Department of Psychiatry at MUSC. Bill and family moved to Charleston and he began his Residency in July, 1963. Bill finished his Residency and accepted the position of Director of the Charleston County Mental Health Center for twenty plus years. After retiring as Director, he accepted the position of Psychiatrist for Lieber Correctional Institution. He served in this position for 13 years. Following this, he completed several Locum Tenens rotations in mental health facilities in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Bill served in several churches including Chesnee Baptist Church, Rutledge Avenue Baptist Church, Fort Johnson Baptist Church, and First Baptist Church, Mt. Pleasant.

Bill is survived by his two daughters: Odessa Blanton Ussery (Bill) of Mt. Pleasant, SC and Willa Blanton Yost of Simpsonville, SC, one son, John Harling Blanton (Wanda) of Lavonia, GA; and seven grandchildren: Jillian Ussery, Suzanne Ussery, William Ussery, Cameron Yost, Zachary Yost, Scott Bruce and Christopher Bruce.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant, 681 McCants Drive, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.