Jack Blackerby

Jack Blackerby, 88, of Oak Ridge, passed away on May 7, 2025 at his Oak Ridge home.
Jack Blackerby was born in Carroll County, Kentucky on March 13, 1937.
He was the first of three children born to Mildred Irene Thompson Blackerby and Justin Blackerby.
The young family moved to the fledgling city of Oak Ridge in 1944 and put down roots that have lasted more than 80 years.
Jack was always proud of his Oak Ridge heritage and growing up in Pine Valley.
He fondly recalled being a paperboy from the sixth grade through high school and delivering the first edition of The Oak Ridger on Jan. 20, 1949.
At Jefferson Junior High School, Jack cultivated a lifelong passion for music under the tutelage of famed Oak Ridge music teacher Alice Lyman who convinced him to play the French horn.
He once said that "90 percent of what I learned about music was in my two years with Ms. Lyman."
Jack was a longtime member of the Oak Ridge Community Band and continued to play for ORCB and other local symphonies and orchestras until recent years.
He had an equally impressive professional career as an engineer.
After graduating from Oak Ridge High School in 1955, Jack was a co-op student at Y-12 while attending the University of Tennessee.
He went on to work in the engineering division at Y-12 where he worked in the Mechanical Engineering Department, the Numerical Control Engineering Department and the System-Engineering Department.
Jack briefly worked for Pratt & Whitney aircraft company in Hartford, Connecticut in the mid-1960s before returning to work at Y-12 in Oak Ridge.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Justin and Mildred Blackerby.
Jack is survived by his wife, Karen McLeod of Oak Ridge, his brother Rich Blackerby (Carolyn Browder) of Morristown, TN and his sister Molly Blackerby Brockman (John Brockman) of Casstown, OH.
He is survived by three children: Mike Blackerby (Kim Davis Blackerby) of North Myrtle Beach, SC, Paula Anderson of Corryton TN and Belinda Hooks of Oliver Springs TN.
Jack is also survived by grandchildren Ashley Hooks, Rachel Anderson, Adra Anderson, Sara Anderson and great-grandchild Emilia Thieke.
The family is planning a private memorial service with interment at Anderson Memorial Gardens.
Weatherford Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. An online guest book can be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.