Edward Albert Blackburn Jr.

EDWARD ALBERT BLACKBURN, JR., M. D. passed away on the 19th of August 2009 at the age of 85. Dr. Blackburn was born on the 28th of November 1923 to Edward Albert and Catherine Cox Blackburn in Houston, Texas. On the 25th of February 1946, he married his childhood sweetheart, Sadie Gwin Allen at Trinity Episcopal Church. They were blessed with three children, Edward Albert Blackburn, III, Catherine Ledyard Blackburn and Robert Allen Blackburn. He attended Lamar High School in Houston and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He returned to Houston to attend Rice Institute in Pre-Med when he was called to join the U.S. Navy. The Navy sent him to Tulane University in New Orleans and then to the Korean Theatre on the medical ship the "US Repose." Upon his return he finished his medical education at the University of Texas Medical Center in Galveston in 1948 specializing in Otolaryngology. In 1953 he joined the Houston Ear Nose and Throat clinic and served as a Senior Partner with the clinic until his retirement in 1994. But retirement didn't mean sitting down and being idle - he traveled all 254 counties of Texas before writing his book "Wanted, the Historical County Jails of Texas 1840 - 1940". Traveling, sometimes with his long time friend Dr. Stanley L Gilbert and at other times with Sadie Gwin, they would tour the backroads of Texas together. He was an avid hunter and fisherman, but delighted in shooting with his camera as well as his guns. Airplanes were a big part of his leisure time and he took great pleasure in owning and flying his own aircraft. He was a member of the American Board of Otolaryngology, American Medical Association, Texas Medical Association Alliance, American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy, American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, During his active career he held a teaching appointment with Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Medical School of Houston. He served on the board of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the UTMB Development Board in Galveston until recently. He was a member of Sigma Chi and Phi Chi medical fraternities. He was also a member of the Houston Country Club, the Bayou Club, the Tejas Club, Eagle Lake Rod & Gun, Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, Allegro, Terpsichere and the Paul Jones Dance Clubs. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Sadie Gwin Allen Blackburn; his sons, Edward A Blackburn, III and Robert Allen Blackburn and his wife Cynthia Walker Blackburn; his grandchildren, Sarah Catherine Blackburn, Benjamin Pronsky, Catherine Ivy Blackburn Frazier and her husband Stuart, Robert Allen Blackburn, Jr. and Caro Elizabeth Key Blackburn; and by his sister, Jeri Nan Vasiloff and her husband Bill. He is predeceased by his daughter, the late Catherine Ledyard Blackburn; his parents, the late Edward A Blackburn, Catherine Cox Blackburn; and stepmother, the late Nancy Yeager Blackburn. Those who knew and loved Dr. "B" will miss his zest for life and his fantastic sense of humor. Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from four o'clock in the afternoon until seven o'clock in the evening on Tuesday, the 25th of August, in the Library of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. The memorial service will be conducted at half-past eleven o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 26th of August, at St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston, where the Rev. Jerald W. Hyche is to officiate. Prior to the memorial service, the family will have gathered for a private committal service and interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. In lieu of usual remembrances, the family suggests contributions in memory of Dr. Blackburn be directed to the Houston Ear Research Foundation, 7737 Southwest Freeway, Ste. 630, Houston, TX, 77074; the Museum of Natural Science, 1 Hermann Circle Dr., Houston, TX, 77030; the Episcopal High School, 1200 N. Quaker Ln., Alexandria, VA, 22302-3000; or to the University of Texas Medical Branch Development Board, 301 University Blvd., Galveston, TX, 77555.