Funeral services were to have been held yesterday (Wednesday) for former Oneida Water Department superintendent Vester Elvin Blevins, who died Saturday at his home. He was 88.
Blevins — known by the nickname “Puci” — served as superintendent of the Oneida Water Department for 37 years. He was also a former member of the Oneida Special School District Board of Education.
A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Blevins served in World War II, landing at Iwo Jima on its first day and fighting throughout the 38-day battle.
He would later say that he “saw the first Iwo Jima flag raising from the foot of Mt. Suribachi.”
He was also with allied forces in Japan at Sasebo and Nagasaki.
Blevins, a native of Robbins, married his wife, Lue Katherine Fetterman, in Ringgold, Ga., shortly after leaving the military. The couple returned to Scott County and raised three children.
