Ernestine Cato Blakeney
May 30, 1929 – April 26, 2024
Pageland, South Carolina – Ernestine “Teeny” Cato Blakeney passed away on Friday, April 26th at The Manor in Florence SC, where she had been a resident the past six months. A lifelong Pagelander, she was born on May 30, 1929, and was the daughter of the late Val Verdie and Vera Hicks Cato. Mrs. Blakeney was a graduate of Pageland Centralized High School and Coker College (University). She was a retired school teacher, having taught English and French for 36 years in Lake View, Union County NC, Buford, and Pageland/Central High Schools, with the French Christmas Program being an annual highlight for her students! She was an advisor to the Yearbook and the 1963 Tiger Yearbook was dedicated to her and her teaching buddy, Mrs. Betty Ballard. Mrs. Blakeney was a Junior or Senior Class sponsor and worked on many Senior Proms. As a member of First Baptist Church of Pageland for 71 years, she taught the Beginner Sunday School Class with the Caldwell Girls, was actively involved in the Winsome Sunday School class and served in a variety of other capacities. She actively supported the Pageland Watermelon Festival as the Queen’s host and was the Grand Marshall of the parade in 2009 along with Mrs. Betty Ballard. She was a charter member of the Pageland Historical Society, with much of her free time spent researching family genealogy, especially Captain John C. Blakeney lineage. Mrs. Blakeney was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary and a supporter of high school athletics. Ever concerned about others, family or friends, she spent many hours helping those in need. She enjoyed opening her home to students who came by for extra tutoring, even though they sometimes “papered her yard” to the chagrin of her husband, Check, who did the clean-up. She and Check loved traveling with their family and spent many happy hours in Franklin, NC at the Cherokee Sapphire Mine. She is survived by her daughters: Andrea “Andi” Hill (Wayne) of Timmonsville and Lori Bellamy (Robert) of Myrtle Beach; Grandsons: Blakeney Kyle “Blake” Hill (Amanda) of Fort Worth, TX and Louis Wayne Hill (Whitney Blue) of Florence, SC; Great-Grandson: Conrad Fraser Hill of Florence, whom she particularly loved. Nieces: Patti Taylor Hinson, Denise Blakeney Pettit, Diane Blakeney Bonner, and Donna Blakeney Joye; Great nieces and nephews and numerous cousins; Special cousins: Myra Cato Coffey and Rhonda Cato Graves. She was predeceased by her parents and her husband, Robert “Check” Louis Blakeney, sister, Sue Cato Taylor, brother-in-law Dr. Billy C. Blakeney and sister-in-law Patricia Griggs Blakeney. The family would like to express special thanks to Martha Smith, Joann Chambers, Jackie Johnson, Joann Cowan, Larry Lockhart, Hearts and Hands and The Manor in Florence for their exceptional care and dedication to Mrs. Blakeney. Visitation will be on Thursday, May 2nd from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Baumgartner Funeral Home, 708 W. McGregor Street, Pageland. Funeral services will be Friday, May 3rd at 2:00 p.m., First Baptist Church of Pageland, 203 W. Pigg Street, with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Memorials can be made to First Baptist Church of Pageland, PO Box 126, Pageland, SC 29728 or to High Point Baptist Church, 16 High Point Church Rd., Pageland, SC 29728. Arrangements are entrusted to Baumgartner Funeral Home (www.baumgartnerfh.com) of Pageland, South Carolina.