Wayne Claude Blackwood

Wayne Claude Blackwood, age 82, passed away on Tuesday, September 15, 2020.

Wayne was born in Dewy Rose, GA on January 1, 1938, to Sarah Brown, a schoolteacher, and Claude Blackwood, a decorated WWII officer in Darby’s Rangers, which evolved into the U.S. Army Rangers. He met his wife Joyce in 3rd grade and never left her side for 75 years, including 63 years of marriage. Wayne graduated from Elbert County High School and attended Clemson University and John Marshall Law School. He began a 44-year career in the automobile business in Atlanta and eventually settled in Rome as “Big Wayne,” owner of Wayne Blackwood Ford Lincoln Mercury, and later Parkway Ford.

He was a hunter, a fisherman, a Georgia football fan who attended every Georgia game for decades; but most of all, Wayne was a car man. He is a member of the Georgia Drag Racing Hall of Fame who earned the nickname “Crazy” while racing Shelby Mustangs under the sponsorship of Carroll Shelby. In the early 2000’s, after years of Wayne advocating for a Lincoln truck, Lincoln introduced the first ever luxury truck named “The Blackwood.”

Wayne is survived by his wife, Joyce Lunsford Blackwood; his daughter, Joy Blackwood Puckett and her husband Jett Puckett; and his grandson, Jett Wayne Puckett, and his wife Campbell Hunt Puckett.

Due to COVID-19, a family-only funeral will be held on Saturday, September 26, at Berry Funeral Home with burial in the Dewy Rose Baptist Church Cemetery. A Celebration of Life ceremony with friends and family will be held at a later date. Floral arrangements are by Petal Pusher Florist, 706-283-5212, and should be delivered to Berry Funeral Home, 1265 Washington Highway, Elberton, GA 30635, 706-283-5142, www.berryfh.com, on Friday, September 25.