1.SallyBlanton, born December 24, 1912 in Volga, Ky.; died March 04, 1998 in Paintsville, Ky. She was the daughter of 2. GeorgeWashingtonBlanton and 3. AddiePrichard. She married (1) JesseCarrollPelphrey July 10, 1931 in Johnson Co., Ky.. He was born February 02, 1913 in Fishtrap, Big Paint, Johnson Co., Ky., and died June 07, 1985 in Paintsville, Ky. He was the son of John Paris (Deal) Pelphrey and Laura A. Trimble.
Notes for Sally Blanton:
I wrote and delivered the following Eulogy on the occasion of my Grandmother's funeral.
The Eulogy of Sally Pelphrey
When I was asked to write this eulogy, I didn't even have to think. I said no. My reasons were such. Sally Pelphrey was the most plain speaking woman I have ever met. If I learned anything from Sally Pelphrey it was to never be ashamed to speak your mind and never say anything you don't mean. When you were acting in a way she didn't agree with she let you know it fast. When she would hold your hand or kiss your cheek and tell you she loved you, you knew there was nothing in her power she wouldn't do for you. So I was worried my words would never do her justice.
Secondly, I didn't feel I was worthy to eulogize this woman who has meant so much to so many people. Between family and friends there are so many good people who are more able than myself to tell you about Mamma.
Then I remembered a conversation me and Granny Pelphrey had many years ago when I felt I wasn't good enough. I was a really small kid and I was feeling sorry about my lack of size. I told Mamma, "It's a shame me and you couldn't have got some size from Uncle Sanford or Bud and Johnny."
She looked at me a little peculiar and said, " They take after the Blantons, me and you are Prichards."
She proceeded to tell me abut her Grandpa Charlie Prichard. He was a Baptist preacher who had come into this country years ago. She told me what a great man he was in spite of his lack of size and what a fine father he had been to Ma Addie. By the time she was through I felt really good about my size. I wasn't short. I was a Prichard and that was about the best thing you could be.
So as plainly as one Prichard can speak about another, I would like to tell you about Sally Pelphrey.
On Christmas Eve, 1912 George and Addie Blanton received a present which has blessed all our lives. God gave them a beautiful baby girl and they named her Sally. Along with her sister, Addie she must have had quite a childhood as a tiny little girl surrounded by a house full of brothers. Two things can be certain about her relationships with Oliver, Sanford ,Ben, Charlie, and Junior. She loved them with all her heart and they made her one tough little lady. As soon as she was old enough she began her education at the McKenzie Branch school.
She knew sorrow early in her life. At the tender age of nine her brother Oliver died of a tetanus infection. This affected Sally deeply and would speak of the loss of her brother with sadness through out her life.
One day while playing outside her home, a young boy came riding up the road on the back of a mule. That young man was Jesse Pelphrey. When their eyes met something magical happened. Till the day he died, Jesse would say that Sally was the prettiest little girl he had ever seen. Jesse knew then and there that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Sally.
Despite Granny Laura's objections that they were too young to be on their own, on July 10th, 1931 Sally Blanton and Jesse Pelphrey became man and wife. Sally was destined be a mother and on April 21st, 1932 she gave birth to the first of her five children, a son. They named him Harold Eugene. As a toddler learning to crawl, Harold was involved in a terrible accident and on January 19th 1933 he died. The time Sally and Jesse spent with Harold must have been the most wonderful time of their lives because the grief his of death endured with them the rest of their lives. To his sister's Harold was always little brother and neither Sally or Jesse ever spoke of their beautiful little boy without a tear in their eye.
As surely as God takes away, God also blesses and Sally and Jesse were blessed with four beautiful girls. One by one, Judy, then Jean, Betty Jo, and Bonnie Sue filled the little Pelphrey home across the creek with laughter. Among the ponytails and the Flat Gap Greyhound pom-poms Sally accomplished the greatest work of her life. She was a mother. She taught her girls how to cook and sew. She taught them what it means to be honest and strong. She taught them how to take the world at it's worst and to smile. She did all this through her example.
When all this was done, she sent her girls into the world. Sally became a grandmother in 1953 when Judy who had married Callis Kelly and gave birth to her first grandson Ricky Allen. She was kept increasingly busy as Granny Pelphrey. In 1962 Betty Jo who had married Wallace Conley gave birth to Joey. His middle name was Eugene in memory of little brother. A month later Jean and her husband Jimmy Wheeler gave birth to Jamie Carol. In 1967 Sally became Granny Pelphrey four more times as Bonnie, now Bonnie Sue Ross wife of Don Ross gave birth to twin boys Ronnie and Donnie, Betty Jo delivered a baby girl. She named her Sallee. Jean finished off the year with another grandson, little Jim. Her final grandson Chris was born in 1971.
During this time Sally's life was hectic. Jesse Pelphrey never met a man he didn't try to feed. In addition to keeping house and being a full time baby sitter for four young working daughters, at the end of his day working in the fields Jesse would always be at door with his hungry work-hands.
"Sally these boys have been out all day. Would you care to fix them some supper?"
Sometimes she rolled her eyes. Sometimes Jesse got a stare. But Sally always greeted the boys with a smile and they always left with their bellies full of the best cooking this side of heaven.
When Betty Jo was elected Johnson County Clerk in 1969, Sally's life took yet another twist . She began working as a deputy clerk in 1970 and held that position through her retirement in 1981. Sally brought the same dedication to her new job that she had shown in every job she had know since she was a girl. Sally built a reputation as a hard worker and a real professional.
Upon her retirement, Sally anticipated years of quiet peace with Jesse but this was not to be. In 1984 Jesse took ill. Her worst fears were realized when Jesse was diagnosed with leukemia. With quiet determination Sally stood by Jesse. They fought as they had fought all their lives. In their struggle they found a love for one another greater than any they had know through out the years. She stood by Jesse till the end but on June 7th, 1985 Jesse Pelphrey died.
For the first time since she saw a handsome boy riding an old mule up a dusty road, Sally was alone.
If only one thing can be remembered about Sally Pelphrey let it be this. She never gave up. From the death of her son, to the death of her brother Ben in France in World War Two, as she watched her dear brothers succumb to death and disease, to the death of her beloved husband, to all the defeat and disappointments this world has to offer, she never gave up. When she sank into the illness that took her life, her thoughts were of her girls, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. She did not want to talk about herself. She wanted them to know that she loved them.
On March 4th , 1998 God looked down upon room 313 of the Paul B. Hall Medical Center and saw the body of this great lady now racked with pain and withered by disease and He said, "It is enough."
What must it have been for Sally fighting for her life and then in an instant to be standing with her God. And in the throng of all those who have gone before she sees the familiar face of the man who had come through the door so many nights to tell her he loved her and in his arms the little boy she's missed for all these long years. You're home Mamma, you're finally home.
For the family that is here now, know that Sally Pelphrey has not left and she cannot be forgotten.
All you have to do is look at Jesse Kelly and you'll see her quiet strength.
You see Jenny Kelly and you find the grace and dignity with which she carried herself.
If you forget what it was like to look into her deep eyes, look into Kasi Conley's eyes and you'll see her.
If you forget the fierce loyalty she had to the ones she loved, ask Josh Conley about the one's he loves.
If you forget how headstrong she could be, just tease Dustin Holbrook a little to get him started.
If you forget how tender she could be, just talk to Mike Kelly a while and it'll all come back to you.
If you wonder about her sense of humor, wait till you can catch Alex Conley with a mischievous little grin on his face and try to figure out what's going on in his mind.
If you forget how sweet her little face looked when you knew she loved you with all her heart, spend some time looking at Beth Kelly. Sally will be right there.
Sally Pelphrey lives on today in the heart and soul of everyone of us.
Notes for Jesse Carroll Pelphrey:
If I ever met a real man, his name was Jesse Pelphrey. Often we remember our loved ones as saints in ivory towers. Pappa Jesse knew enough sorrow to qualify for sainthood, but he loved the world far too much.
If I could show you just one thing about Jesse, it would be the way he laughed. He always had a joke. Most often they made no sense at all. For example, What did the elephant say to the piss ant? Don't shit on me big boy! I carry a turd in my pocket. If Pappa asked me that once, he asked me a hundred times and I still don't get it. But he would laugh so hard, that before you knew it, you would be rolling on the floor. He would tell you a big story with such earnestness that you would finding yourself hanging on every word, even though you knew it was just a tall tale.
