2021-2-22, Jeff Blackburn Graveside

Introduce myself

Welcome

Enjoyed hearing about Jeff-

CO

Coins, guns, cars

Motorcycle

Especially his love for friends and family, Lynette and Colby

During times like these we search for solace.

Maybe we follow Horatio Spafford’s example: Horatio had to find solace

Chicago Business man

Lost most of what he owned in 1871 fires.

Sent his wife and four daughters to London to restart.

Their ship collided with another. He lost his daughters. His wife telegraphed from England, “Saved alone”

On the first available ship, Mr. Spafford sailed to join his wife in England. While at sea, he asked the captain to alert him when they reached the spot where the ship had sunk.

At that point, he went to the deck and the following words came to his mind.

When peace like a river,

attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot,

Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

He took solace in a living relationship with God who comforted in that dark time. He took solace in the gospel which is the way of peace to God and is available to all of us.

Admit we are sinners Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for our sins and was raised. Call on Jesus as Savior and Lord and be saved.

Spafford believed that only could rescue him out of his grief, and that only heaven could offer him peace.

Romans 8:35–39 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This source of solace is available to us today to.

ABC

4-20-1969 Jeff was saved and baptized

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Closing Prayer

At 11:08pm on Sunday, February 14, 2021, Jeffery Todd Blackburn passed away in his bed at Mercy Hospital. He was 61. Graveside services are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Monday, February 22, 2021, at the Memory Lane Cemetery of Harrah. The casket will be closed at all times but friends my pay their respects from 3-8 p.m. Sunday at Asa Smith Funeral Service of Harrah. Jeff was born to Gene and Allene Blackburn on July 13, 1959. Forever and always a son of Harrah, Jeff would go on to graduate from Harrah High School in 1977. After high school, things took off for Jeff. He began working at the Rainbo Baking Company (now Bimbo Baking Company) in Oklahoma City, OK, as an accounting clerk, where he would spend the next 40 years of his life before retiring in 2018. Shortly after joining the workforce, Jeff—with the help of his bright yellow Corvette—would meet his future wife, Lynnette. She would go on to stay by his side for the almost 40 year remainder of his life. In 1985, they had their first, and only, child, Colby. Jeff had a strong passion for seven things: his family; photography; collecting old coins, watches, knives, and guns (something he inherited from his father, Gene); and watching his reality TV. Jeff frequently went to gun and coin shows on the weekends, always excited to tell the family about his “amazing finds” when he returned home. Being an avid photographer, Jeff found any excuse at all to take pictures of the people and the world around him. If he had been given enough film, there’s no doubt he would have been able to create a wall of pictures that could be seen from even the furthest reaches of outer space. And when the days were over and the evenings came, he couldn’t get enough of his History and Discovery Channel reality shows, especially The Curse of Oak Island (he was positive they’d found the treasure already and were just wanting to make more seasons).

For all his activities, Jeff was primarily a man of peace and relaxation. The mountains and fresh air called to him on a regular basis; and Colorado was his sanctuary for two weeks every year. During the summer, he would migrate to the state with his family for some much needed downtime. He would go to the top of Pikes Peak and soak in every bit of the view. He would ride the train in Durango, snapping pictures every second of the way. He boldly hiked up the mountains in Vail and Breckenridge, only stopping to eat a sandwich and pick up his injured son, whom he would carry thousands of vertical feet down a rocky trail. And at the end of every trip, he would slow things down by fly fishing and animal watching with his family in his favorite place, Estes Park. From “Wild Hogging” across the state on his motorcycle (a.k.a. the Cruiser) with Leo and Paul to exuberantly riling himself up with his friend, Jerome, in their daily chats about the most random and off-the-wall topics, Jeff lived life on his terms; and he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Above all else, he was fearless and unwavering when it came to taking care of his family and his friends. Jeff wasn’t the most patient of men, and he wasn’t the most graceful of men. He wasn’t a Nobel Prize winner or some great philanthropist; and he never had to be. He was a beloved husband, father, and friend to all; and that’s all he ever needed to be. It is with a heavy, yet happily-contented, heart that we send off Jeffery Todd Blackburn—father, husband, and friend—into the endlessly magnificent mountain roads of the great unknown, armed with only his camera, the Cruiser, and his gumption. Know that you are much loved and will be missed, and we can’t wait to see you again someday. Jeff is survived by his wife of 39 years, Lynnette; his sister Debbie; son Colby and his fiancée Erin; niece Stephanie and her husband Tony; nephews Lance and Brett and their wives Danielle and Chelsey, respectively; nephew Bradley; and his dog Yogi.