Carl J Williams

On January 4, 2008 I found the obituary for Tedd Blevins in the Bristol Herald Courier. I thought Tedd to be an amazing person, and a wonderful artist. The obituary was ideal.
This morning I noticed the reprint of the obit was edited, so I check the Courier’s website and found it was edited there as well. Tedd deserves an unedited obituary. Here is the original version:
Bristol, Tenn. – Tedd Blevins of Bristol Tennessee joined Rembrandt in the sky on Jan. 4, 2008.
He was wearing a green shirt. Rumors have it that Van Gogh and Vermeer have asked Tedd to join them at the Bar of the Pearly Gates for a smoke and a Bud, but the multitude of slightly clad and underage angels are appparently quite distracting. The bright orange and lavender bubbles are not helping, either.
Tedd is survived by his wife, Carole Blevins; sister, Christeene (Cricket) Sheets; daughters, Adrian Blevins and Shelly Blevins-Stanley; sons-in-law, Nate Rudy and Andy Stanley; and five audacious grandchildren, Weston and Benjamin Church, Madison and Cameron Stanley, and August Rudy.
A celebration in honor of his wit, joie de vive and infamous lifeforce will be held at the Main St. Chapel of Farris Funeral Service in Abingdon, Va., on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 11 a.m. A more festive celebration of his life will be held this summer.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Virginia Intermont College, 1013 Moore Street, Bristol, VA 24201, where he tried to be a bad influence on generations of young artists for 42 years. VI is not responsible for this obituary. Instead, it has been funded by the campaign to promote Tedd. Those wishing to send memories or messages of sympathy onlline may do so by visiting http://farrisfuneralservice.com.
Farris Funeral Service, Main Street Chapel, 427 E. Main St., Abingdon, VA., is serving Tedd’s family.