Floyd Blanton was used to the stares, the murmurs, the pointing, the chuckles and the out-of-the-blue gift requests.
Adults couldn't help but smile when they saw him. Children couldn't resist the urge to climb up in his lap and whisper their secrets into his ear. And Mr. Blanton allowed it all, with a twinkle in his eye and wearing an all-knowing, yet welcoming, smile. After all, he knew he looked a lot like somebody that everybody knew, once upon a time.
George Floyd Blanton, of Snellville, died Sunday at Eastside Medical Center in Snellville, from complications associated with a brain tumor. He was 84. A funeral service has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Faith Community Church, Grayson. Burial will follow at Eternal Hills Memory Gardens, Snellville. Bill Head Funeral Homes and Crematory, Lilburn/ Tucker Chapel, was in charge of arrangements.
Shortly before retiring from BellSouth Corp., where he was in public relations, Mr. Blanton's hair began to turn snow white, said his son William "Bill" Blanton, of Lilburn. But it wasn't very long, and he didn't have a full beard at the time.
"He was always very well-groomed," Bill Blanton said of his father. "So when he began to grow a beard and let his hair grow long, it just blew my mind because when I was younger he used to give me grief about wearing my hair long."
Mr. Blanton isn't sure exactly when his father's hair completed its transition, but when it did, there was no question about the elder Mr. Blanton's holiday plans.
"It was just a natural role for him," said Kristy Blanton, Bill Blanton's wife. "He was the kindest, most caring person you've ever met."
A native of Miami, Floyd Blanton spent most of his life in Florida. It was there that he married his wife and helped her raise five children. Martha Ann Blanton, his wife of 63 years, died in November. The couple left the Sunshine State and moved to the Atlanta area approximately 20 years ago, shortly after he retired from BellSouth. A deeply religious man, Mr. Blanton and his wife found a church home and started making friends in their new city.
Julie Doleys, a friend and church member, said she recognized Mr. Blanton immediately, but not by his birth name. And others responded to him as if they, too, knew exactly who he was, she said.
"We did some financial business together and while waiting in the lobby, kids would come and sit in his lap and talk to him," she said. "It didn't matter what he was wearing, but there was always that red cap and the white hair."
Bill Blanton said his father has always had "a special warm spirit about him," that he never tired of sharing with the world.
"He had the patience of Job," his son said. "He always understood and took the time to understand. Everybody who met him loved him, and the role fit him very well."
In addition to his son, Mr. Blanton is survived by a second son, Steve Blanton of Snellville; daughters, Linda Durvin of Lawrenceville and Julie Noennich of Buford; brother, Graham Blanton of Miami; five grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.
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