Dale Blackburn, 81, of Waco, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 12, 2026 in Plano, Texas, surrounded by his family. A visitation in his honor will be at 6:00pm to 8:00pm, Monday, March 16, 2026 at Grace Gardens Funeral Home. A graveside service will be at 11:00am, Tuesday, March 17, 2026 at Waco Memorial Park with Pastor Ron Durham officiating
Dale was born to Clyde and Myrtle Blackburn on December 10, 1944 in Waco, Texas. He attended Waco High School, where he was a proud member of the marching band all 4 years.
He graduated from Waco High School in May of 1963 and then attended Baylor University. In November 1964, Dale married his high school sweetheart, Janice Rosser. He worked at Hammond's before joining the United States Army. His 6-year Army Intelligence career took him to Louisiana, Baltimore, and ultimately to Germany. While Dale was in Germany, they welcomed their first daughter, Dawn in 1967, in Waco. When Dawn was 2 months old, they joined Dale in Germany. After returning from his service, Dale, Janice, and Dawn resided in Ft. Hood, Texas where their second daughter, Raechele (Cheley), was born in 1969. Shortly after Cheley was born, they moved back home to Waco, where he began work in the insurance field for several years. He then drove trucks for 6 years at Central Freight Lines. In 1990 he became the Plant Manager and then later the Business Administrator at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church where he worked for 17 years. In 2008 Dale retired and enjoyed retirement with golfing, fishing, watching sports, picking up and delivering cars for multiple car dealerships, and spending precious time with his family. Most recently, he enjoyed part-time work with friend James Winans at his fence design business. Dale and Janice were 46-year members of Columbus Avenue Baptist Church and then joined First Woodway Baptist Church in 2011 where they are current members.
He was preceded in death by his parents Clyde and Myrtle Blackburn, in-laws Thelbert and Estelle Rosser, and triplet grandchildren, Sarah, Zachary, and Alison Khoury.
He is survived by his wife, Janice; his daughters, Dawn Khoury and husband Michael (Rusty) of Waco; daughter Raechele (Cheley) Parker and husband Kevin of Waco; brother Donald Blackburn and wife Nelda of Grand Prairie; Sisters-in-Law June Stinson and friend Wayne Butler of Waco; Phyllis Orand and husband Mike of Waco; grandchildren Ashley O'Neal and husband Chad of Waco; K.J. Parker and wife Sydney of Jarrell; Lauren Windham of Waco; Cameron Khoury of Ft. Worth and Sarah Khoury of Lubbock. He is also survived by great-granddaughters Aria and Evelyn Parker of Jarrell and by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The American Heart Association or St. Jude's Hospital.
The family would also like to thank Dr. Buck Cross, the medical and nursing staffs at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest in Waco and Baylor Scott & White Heart Hospital in Plano for their excellent care and compassion shown to us over the past few weeks.