Gladys Marie Blackburn Risley

Gladys Marie Blackburn Risley, 77, died in Dallas after a long battle with cancer on February 17, 2022.

She was born January 14, 1945, in Clarendon to Charles Edward and Gladys Hardin Blackburn. She attended Clarendon schools and received a BS in medical technology from the University of Missouri Kansas City. She worked in the microbiology laboratory at BSA in Amarillo for the last 28 years of her career.

Marie married Lloyd Risley in Clarendon on January 26, 1964. Together they went on many Rio Grande River ministry trips and also Eastern European and South American short-term mission trips with International Commission. They were active in nursing home ministries in Amarillo and McKinney for more than 30 years.

Marie is survived by her husband, her daughter, Teresa Hill, and husband Kelly from McKinney and her son, Miles Risley and wife Michelle of Corpus Christi, and her brother, Butch Blackburn, and his wife, Paula, of Clarendon. Her grandchildren are Richard, Amanda, Nicholas Risley and Emily, Brecken, and Brighton Hill. She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister, Tammy Diane Blackburn Spivey, and a granddaughter, Molly Abigail Hill.

Memorial service will be held Saturday, February 26, 2022, at Heritage Church, 4045 W. Eldorado Parkway, McKinney, Texas 75070, at 1:00 p.m. Pastors Len and Cheri McLaughlin will officiate. The family requests donations to Gideons International at 103 S, Bonham Drive, Allen, TX, 75013 or Heritage Church Missions at above address.