Ceylon Bryan Blackwell Jr

1943 - 2025

On February 14, 2025, Ceylon Bryan Blackwell, Jr passed away peacefully. He was born Oct 2, 1943, to Reed and Ceylon Blackwell, Sr who predeceased him. He was also predeceased by his two brothers, George Kerns and Michael Blackwell. Ceylon was a devoted husband, father, grandfather & friend. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Lucy, his two children, Ceylon, III (Staci) & Greer Elkus (Mark), & five grandchildren (Jack & Lily Blackwell, Isabel, Eleanor & Mary Richard Elkus).

A life-long Memphian, Big C attended Snowden Elementary, Central High School & was a graduate of Georgia Tech which he loved dearly. He will be a Ramblin' Wreck forever! While at Tech, he played center for the Yellow Jackets football team & was a member of SAE Fraternity. Ceylon returned to Memphis after graduation to help his father manage & run the Desoto Parking Garage until its sale in 1970. He then began a long & celebrated career in real estate where he was a sales manager & Principal Broker at Boyle Investment, founder of Pyramid Realtors, broker with Marx Bensdorf, & broker with Crye-Leike. Ceylon served as President, VP & Treasurer of Memphis Area Assoc of Realtors & was awarded Realtor of the Year by MAAR in 1985. He served as VP & President of the TN Assoc of Realtors & was a member of many committees of the National Assoc of Realtors. He was also an active member of Germantown Rotary Club and served as its president for a year. Ceylon was a Life Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Sales Club. Ceylon was a life-long Catholic & faithful parishioner at St. Peter Catholic Church.

It was at one of Ceylon's famous parties at the Submarine Room where he met Lucy, a flight attendant for Delta Airlines. They were married one year later & celebrated 56 years together last August. Ceylon was an exceptional husband and father. He coached soccer & football for many of Little C's Church League teams & soccer & T-ball for Greer's teams. He refereed high school football games for 20 years & was a Shelby County First Responder. Ceylon was a tennis champion at the University Club before finding his love of golf. You could always count on hearing Big C's words of encouragement at the sidelines of the sporting fields & track when his kids, & later grandkids, were playing. Pop, as his grandchildren knew him, never missed a tea party or story time. He was quick to share a joke or funny story, generous with wise words, & his hugs were legendary. Ceylon was a force of love whose cheer & positive attitude were infectious. Until the very end, when asked "How ya doin?", Big C's answer was always "Happy, Healthy & Enthusiastic!". He touched so many lives and will be deeply missed.

Services will be February 24 at St. Peter Church with visitation at 10:00 AM in the parish hall and service to follow at 11:00.

The family requests memorials be sent to St Peter Catholic Church or Ave Maria Home.