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Woman Served In Community

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 17, 2007

BRANDON - Her prevailing legacy to Brandon depends upon whom you ask.

After nearly 50 years in the community, Phyllis Blanton's contributions are plenty and varied. However, family and friends agree the first thing that comes to mind when they think about Blanton is her all-embracing warmth.

"You never saw her that she wasn't laughing," said longtime friend Janet Moucha of Brandon. "She was so much fun to be around. She had such a great outlook on life."

"Mom loved everybody," said her daughter, Linda Blanton. "She never met a stranger."

Phyllis Blanton died suddenly at her home Nov. 8 at the age of 76. She had been speaking to her daughter, Linda, on the phone an hour earlier about what she planned to cook for dinner.

"It was a shock," Linda Blanton said. "Mom always did everything slow and sure. This was the only thing she ever did fast."

Phyllis Blanton and her husband, Jim Blanton, who died Oct. 29, 2006, moved to Brandon with their three children in 1958, as the community was starting to blossom. The Blantons owned a real estate and property development company and later a paint store. Jim Blanton helped found the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce in 1959 and served as its first president that year.

Soon after, Phyllis Blanton, along with Moucha, Anne Davis and other members of the Nativity Catholic Church Women's Guild, formed the Home and School Association of Nativity Catholic Church, the forerunner to Nativity Catholic School, in May 1961. By the time the school was ready to open, the women had 119 students enrolled.

The Blantons built their first home on Camp Florida Road off Lakewood Drive, on a scenic lot overlooking Lake Chapman in Limona. They didn't realize they had built the house below the tree line ahead of the wettest March on record.

A year after moving in, the lake flooded the property, and they moved to a house with a higher foundation. They later purchased a 40-acre parcel on a 6-acre lake on South Kings Avenue and built a large brick house. Linda Blanton said the second home on Lake Chapman was her mother's favorite.

"Back when we first came, State Road 60 was just two lanes, and they would close the road so our horses could cross," she said. "Dad built Robertson Street, and we kids were told to go out and get 500 signatures so we could convince a grocery store to move to Brandon. But there wasn't enough people here to get 500 signatures."

Later in life, Phyllis Blanton took lifelong learning classes in writing at the University of South Florida and recorded some of her memories.

"She loved telling stories," Linda Blanton said.

"When a convenience store was built at the corner of Kings and Bloomingdale, we suggested that a hitching post be added for the kids on horseback," Phyllis Blanton said in her memoirs. "To our surprise, the owners put one in."

Among the organizations near and dear to Blanton's heart was the Brandon Service League, which was active in service projects throughout the community.

In the early 1970s, a group of Brandon business leaders, including Jim Blanton, decided the community needed a hospital and formed a coalition that succeeded in opening Brandon Community Hospital in 1977, now Brandon Regional Hospital.

At the time, the service league formed the Pink Ladies, now the Brandon Regional Hospital Auxiliary, a group that volunteers at the hospital. Phyllis Blanton served on the auxiliary for more than 30 years with her best friend, Sue Fern of Brandon.

Phyllis Blanton is survived by her three children, Linda, Jack and Jamie; and her grandchildren, Keala, Jacob, Erin, Jordan and Emma.

A funeral was held Tuesday at Resurrection Catholic Church in Riverview. Donations in her memory may be made to the Brandon Regional Hospital Auxiliary by calling (813) 681-5551, Ext. 3587, or to the Animal Coalition of Tampa by sending a check to the coalition at 1719 Lemon St., Tampa FL 33606.

Southern Funeral Care in Riverview was in charge of arrangements.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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