Darrell Blaylock
GREENVILLE — Dr. Darrell Nolon Blaylock, 83, of Greenville, passed away Friday, Aug. 14, 2020, at Merit Health River Oaks Hospital, Flowood. A visitation will be from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Oxford Church of Christ. Internment will follow after one last trip around the Square at Garden of Memories Cemetery in Oxford. The family plans to hold a Celebration of Life service in Greenville at a later date. Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford is in charge of arrangements.
Dr. Blaylock was born to the late John Nolon Blaylock and Adene Lauderdale Blaylock. He was born in Purvis and raised in Oxford. He attended University High School and graduated from the University of Mississippi Pharmacy School in 1958. During high school and college, he loved working as a soda jerk at Blaylock Drugs, his father’s drugstore in Oxford. He then attended the University of Mississippi Medical School, where he graduated with his medical degree in June of 1962. He finished out his medical training with internships and residencies at Mid-State Baptist Hospital in Nashville, TN, and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, TN. Dr. Blaylock served as a Major in the United States Army from 1966-1969, where his family was stationed in Augsburg, Germany. After his time in the Army, Dr. Blaylock and his family moved to Greenville, where he practiced internal medicine for the next 49 years, retiring in 2018. The biggest thing he missed after his retirement was his relationships with his patients. They were truly the reason he worked. Darrell was an elder at the South Main Church of Christ where he and Mary attended and served for nearly 50 years. He enjoyed playing golf until dark and attending Ole Miss athletic events, but most of all being involved in the lives of his children and grandchildren. Dr. Blaylock served on the board of Washington School in Greenville, MS as well as on the boards of Sunnybrook Children’s Home and Sunnybrook Estates in Ridgeland. Always a fan of the underdog, Darrell was a long time member of the Ole Miss Basketball Tip-Off Club. Darrell enjoyed watching “The Andy Griffith Show” and “MASH.” He was a former member of the Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club, and he would jokingly say that he was getting his continuing medical education by watching MASH. He especially loved spending time tailgating with his family in the Circle at Ole Miss during football season. As a father, his main goals were to teach his children about the love of God and to provide them with a good education, and he tackled these tasks with fervor. Known as Grumps to his family, he was a lifelong cheerleader for his children and grandchildren.
Darrell Blaylock is survived by his five children, Darrell Blaylock (Tina), Doug Blaylock (Debbie), Dina Andrews (Adam), Dwayne Blaylock (Leigh), and Dawn Eifling (Jason). He will be dearly missed by his grandchildren, Anna Marie Brown (Paul), Meredith West (Brendon), Taylor Jackson, Killian Jackson, Brittany Clemens (Trey), Taylor Blaylock (Katy), Nolon Blaylock (Logan), Addison Andrews, Will Andrews (Cori), Madeleine Blaylock, Lucy Blaylock, and Mary Presley Eifling; and his great-grandchildren, Jack Thomas Brown, William Brown, Davis West, Ella West, Riley Jackson, Corinne Clemens, and Jack Clemens. He is also survived by his brother, David Blaylock (Betty) and sister Dianne Mills, and daughter-in-law Nancy Blaylock. He will be especially missed by his special friend of almost 50 years, Mary Lou Holt.
Darrell’s bride of 63 years, Mary Bess Watt Blaylock, preceded him in death by 36 hours. Darrell and Mary shared an incredible love story, and they were inseparable even at the end of their lives on earth. A childhood friend of the family commented that they were a story of plain people who grew up to live full and rewarding lives.
He was also preceded in death by his parents, John Nolon Blaylock and Adene Lauderdale Blaylock and brother-in-law, Charles Mills.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Sunnybrook Children’s Home (222 Sunnybrook Rd, Ridgeland, MS. 39157) or to the Diabetes Foundation of MS (800 Avery Blvd. N. #100, Ridgeland, MS. 39157). Please leave online condolences on the Tribute Wall at colemanfuneralhome.com.
