Michael Blackwell

Michael Wayne Blackwell, Jr. was born on November 11, 1975 at 8:14 A.M. in Birmingham, Alabama, Jefferson County and passed away at 8:00 A. M. Wednesday, March 9, 2016 in Springville, Alabama, St. Clair County. His death was the result of a 35 year struggle with Juvenile diabetes which led to a heart attack. Michael was 40 years old. He was the son of Michael Wayne Blackwell and Sandra Nation Blackwell. One of our earliest memories of Michael was his love for music. He had numerous toy instruments. He would take one of his horns to the Veteran's Day parade and marched right beside them. Since November 11th was his birthday, he actually thought the parade was to celebrate his birthday. He learned to play the piano at the age of 10 and was a good pianist. Michael was an excellent student and received the high honor of the President's Award for outstanding student when he graduated from 6th grade. He was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 5 and began playing baseball, soccer, and basketball at the age of 7 to get exercise to help control his diabetes. He grew to love baseball and became an excellent player. He played on many championship teams. Michael was dedicated to God at birth. His first personal experience with God was at age 6. He gave his heart to Jesus and received the Holy Spirit in his life. He was a dedicated prayer warrior at a very young age. Although he strayed from God in his late teenage years, He came back to Him in 2001. He totally dedicated his life to Jesus Christ. Michael loved his sister, Dana, very much. Since she also had diabetes, they had a lot in common. They both loved and enjoyed music. They sang a duet at our 25th wedding anniversary. He was devastated by her death in 2006. He will be buried beside her. They will both come forth in the resurrection. He went to college to be an RN. He maintained a 3.9 GPA and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Kappa Delta. He was accepted in nursing school and planned to be a Diabetes Educator. A decline in his health kept him from being able to finish his studies. Michael was preceded in death by his grandfather, John William Blackwell; Grandmother Johnnie Louise Blackwell; uncle Billy Maurice Blackwell; uncle Kenneth Ray Nation; grandmother Luella Faye Matthews, and sister Dana Rachelle Blackwell. Michael is survived by his father, Michael Wayne Blackwell; mother, Sandra Nation Blackwell; grandfathers Jerry Matthews and Kenneth Charles Nation; aunts and uncles: Cheryl and Clifton Whitaker, Brenda and Daniel Crawford, Terry Nation, and Louise Blackwell. He was also survived by many cousins and numerous friends. Visitation will be on Monday, March 14, 2016 from 6 to 8 PM at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home. Services will be on Tuesday at 10 AM in the chapel at Jefferson Memorial. Burial will follow at Jefferson Memorial Gardens East. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Jefferson Memorial Trussville directing.