William Earl Blackwell was born August 4, 1953 in GIlmer, Texas to WIlliam Howard Blackwell and Melba Pollard Blackwell.  Earl was a lifelong resident of Quitman and graduated from Quitman schools before earning his B. S. degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A & M University in 1975.  He worked for Brown and Root in Houston before returning to Quitman to join in the family greenhouse business.  He purchased Blackwell Greenhouses in the mid 1980s and has owned and operated them to the present day.  Earl was married to his Aggie sweetheart, Linda Herzog Blackwell, in 1976 and they have two sons; WIlliam Layne Blackwell and Peyton Earl Blackwell.  He went to be with the Lord on May 19, 2016 after a brief illness.  A memorial service was held at Green Acres Baptist Church Chapel on Saturday, May 28, 2016 with Johnny Ziegler, Mike Ziegler and Lanny Bridges officiating.

Earl was a very quiet, humble man.  He never sought attention for himself.  Instead his attention was always focused on others.  He was the most loving husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, cousin and friend.  His greatest joys in life were worshipping God, loving his family wholeheartedly, following Layne and Peyton through their years in the Aggie Band, and celebrating Layne and Leah's marriage.  Earl adored playing with his precious grandchildren, Noah, Caleb and Natalie, and they gave him joy beyond belief.  Earl loved laughing with family and friends and he enjoyed working with many special employees through the years, especially Jarrod Yeager for 18 years.  Earl took great joy in teaching first grade Sunday morning BIble study at Green Acres Baptist Church, and he loved listening to each child memorize God's word every Sunday.

Earl was dearly loved by his family and he will be missed tremendously.  His legacy will be the Godly example he was to everyone he loved, to all of the children he taught and to all who knew him well.

Earl was preceded in death by his father William Howard Blackwell.  He is survived by his mother, Melba Blackwell; his wife, Linda Blackwell; son, Peyton Blackwell; son and daughter-in-law, Layne and Leah Blackwell; and three grandchildren, Noah, Caleb and Natalie Blackwell. He is also survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Shirley and Rod Fleming; sister, Margaret Batson; niece, nephew and great nephew, Adrienne, Matt and Elliott Handford; nephew and niece, Alex and Lauren Fleming; and niece and nephew, Sarah and Blake Batson.  Earl is also survived by many special cousins.

Memorial donations may be made to the Children's Ministry at Green Acres Baptist Church, 1607 Troup Hwy, Tyler, Texas 75701.  The Childrens Ministry was very dear to Earl's heart.