James Junior Blaylock

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Junior Blaylock
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    James “Junior” Blaylock went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020.
    He was born June 9, 1926, in Andrews to Forrest and Carrie Blaylock. The “last of the Mohicans” as he often referred to himself, he was the youngest in the family and last living of 12 children.
    He was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn Blaylock; two grandchildren, Nathan Blaylock and Meghan Blaylock; brothers, Ennis Blaylock, Donald Blaylock (Dude), Bertho Blaylock (Bert); and sisters, Cordelina Anderson (Cordie), Agnes Blaylock, Elsie Adams, Ronnie Lunsford, Thelma Hayle, Pauline Thomas, Clearine Luther and Aileen Frye.
    He is survived by a son, Kelvin Wayne Blaylock; a grandson, Christopher Blaylock; and several nieces and nephews.
    Junior played bluegrass and gospel music for most of his life, with friends and family, and on the professional level. He taught numerous people to play fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin, some of whom went on to play professionally themselves. He played on the Mid-Day Merry-Go-Round, a local radio show when he lived in Lexington.
    Junior played many music events throughout the years, including festivals, benefits and local jam sessions, as well as fundraisers at the Valleytown Cultural Arts Center in Andrews. He was a member of several local bands through the years, including the Carolina Bluegrass Boys and Southern Bluegrass Boys.
    A World War II veteran, Junior left home in 1944 at the early age of 18, where he worked as a farm hand at Wood Farm, to serve his country. He served in the Philippine Islands and Okinawa, Japan, as a military policeman where he earned the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Expert Infantryman Badge, and the Army Good Conduct Medal. He was an accomplished marksman, extremely proud of earning his Sharpshooter Badge.
    Junior loved to show off his skills on the cabin porch by shooting bumblebees out of the air with a Red Ryder BB gun and was an avid squirrel hunter accompanied by his Mountain Feist dog “Mandy.”
    Junior retired after 26 years from Thomasville Furniture in Lexington, where he lived for many years before returning back to the North Carolina mountains to build a cabin in the Junaluska community where he and Carolyn lived out their remaining years.
    Junior will be buried at Valley River Baptist Church Cemetery beside Carolyn. The Rev. Roy Phillips will be officiating. Pallbearers will be determined. Military honors will be conducted by veterans organizations: VFW Post 10222, Joe Miller Elkin American Legion Post 96 and DAV Chapter 73 and American Legion Post 532 of Hayesville and VFW Post 6812 Hayesville.
    Donations in honor of Junior may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice, 75 Medical Park Lane, Suite C, Murphy, NC 28906.
    You may send tributes to the Blaylock family at townson-rose.com.
    Townson-Rose Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.