Glenn Carlton Blackwood

Glenn Blackwood, 93, passed away at the Odd Fellows Home in Walla Walla, Washington on November 12, 2023.

Glenn and his twin sister Jane were born in Hope, Arkansas in 1929. As a young boy, he moved to Watsonville, California where the family had a ranch with an orchard, a garden, and a plethora of farm animals. As the oldest boy in a family with ten kids (two sets of twins!), he always had chores to do. Glenn learned carpentry, but when drafted into the US Army, he trained as a medic. While stationed in Daejeon, Korea however, there was little call for his medical services, so he spent his time building hospital beds and doing maintenance work for the 71st evacuation unit. As a young man, he continued to hone his carpentry skills and even worked on an addition to the unique Frank Lloyd Wright “Hanna House”.

Glenn met his sweetheart, Dolores (Dee) at the doctor’s office she worked at in Sunnyvale, CA. Their friendship deepened through choir and the Missionary Volunteer youth group at Mountain View SDA Church. Glenn and Dee married July 8th of 1956 in a garden wedding. As an only child, Dee loved the large extended family she married into.

Glenn and Dee lived for various lengths of time in Anchorage, Alaska; Wawona (Yosemite National Park), Watsonville and Soquel on the California Coast. Together they raised three children, Steve, Beth, and Tim. The Blackwood family moved to College Place Washington in 1969, where Glenn continued to work as a carpenter. Eventually he launched Blackwood Construction and built or remodeled homes throughout the valley. Glenn finally “retired” from being a “go-to” handy man in 2019, and he and Dee moved to the Quail Run Retirement Community in Walla Walla.

Glenn was a devout Seventh Day Adventist and an active member of the Stateline SDA Church; he taught Sabbath School, led Pathfinders, served as a deacon, and contributed his building skills to maintaining the sanctuary and fellowship hall. In addition, Glenn and Dee were passionate about prison ministries, providing friendship and spiritual guidance to the men incarcerated at the Washington State Penitentiary. Glenn was named Volunteer of the Year in 2015, commended for more than 30 years of service.

Glenn loved his Creator and Savior, his sweet wife, Sabbath afternoon walks, learning about science and nature, telling stories, and giving construction advice. He would have worked every single day of his life if his health had permitted.

Glenn was preceded in death by his son Steve (1957-1977); he is survived by his wife Dee (Walla Walla, WA), twin sister Jane Frye (Paradise, CA), brother Jim Blackwood (Lebanon, OR), daughter Beth Blackwood (with son-in-law Theo Palmer; Port Ludlow, WA), son Tim Blackwood (Portland, OR), grandson Michael Blackwood (Staunton, VA), granddaughter Kali Palmer (with husband Tam Armstrong; Seattle, WA) and numerous nieces and nephews.

There is no memorial service planned at this time, but friends are invited to sign the guestbook or share a memory via the link on this site. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Glenn’s memory. https://give.adra.org/