With profound sorrow and deep gratitude for a life beautifully lived, we announce the passing of Mattie Faye Blankenship Carey, a beloved mother, grandmother, wife, and friend, who departed this earthly world for her heavenly home on January 25, 2026.
Visitation will be Thursday, January 29, 2026 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Pinkard Funeral Home, Haleyville, AL. Funeral to begin at 6:00 p.m. with Bro. Rayburn Whitman officiating.
A woman of remarkable intellect and gentle strength, she could recite the Huguenot and Hapsburg family lineages from memory and delighted in Victorian houses, delicate teacups, Russian history, pink roses, butter pecan ice cream, and a good love story, always with “a little something sweet before bed.” She found joy in simple pleasures: buttermilk with cornbread, books piled high, a baby snuggled up in her arms, and the quiet beauty of a well-lived day.
Born and raised on a small farm in Mount Hope, Alabama, she attended a two-room schoolhouse and learned early the values of hard work and perseverance. Her childhood was shaped by long days plucking goose feathers for down blankets, milking cows, gathering eggs, churning butter, and working the fields. In every spare moment, she read voraciously, beginning a lifelong love of learning that never faded.
After high school, Faye left her small hometown for Chicago, where she met the love of her life, another Alabamian far from home, Raymond Carey. They fell madly and deeply in love and were married just six months later, just before he deployed. Together, they built a beautiful life together: raising four daughters, welcoming eighteen grandchildren, traveling the world, and sharing a marriage that spanned 65 years. Raymond remained faithfully by her side day and night until her passing.
She was, above all else, a mother in the truest sense of the word. She soothed childhood pains, mended broken hearts, stood beside her children through life’s most defining moments, and she loved fiercely and without limit. Her favorite saying, “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle,” was not just a belief- it was her way of life. She lifted others, spoke for those without a voice, and gathered countless people under her wing, making them feel safe, seen, and loved.
Faye passed as she lived, at home, surrounded by those who loved her. In her final week, more than twenty family members and friends traveled from Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida to be with her, a testament to the extraordinary impact she had on so many lives.
She is preceded in death by her parents Susie and Ausie Blankenship and her siblings: Lorene Colburn, Willard Blankenship, Hilliard Blankenship, Leon Blankenship, Bea Potter, and Jean Potter.
She is survived by Raymond Carey, her devoted husband of 65 years; her brother, Dan Blankenship; her four daughters, Melanie Huffman (Jimmy), Susan Riggs (Ricky), Crystal Holder (Kevin), and Amber Carey (Scott Jernigan); her eighteen grandchildren, Nikki Riggs, Jarrett Huffman, Sara Riggs, Katy Hunt, Morgan Russell, Aric Riggs, Carter Huffman, Russ Fuller, Ryder Fuller, Sydney Jernigan, and Sawyer Jernigan; great grandchildren, Natalyn Baker, Anna Rowe, Emily Rowe, Harper Huffman, Declan Russell, Kade Huffman, and Beckett Russell; and many extended family members and cherished friends who will carry her light forward.
Her love shaped generations, and her legacy lives on in every life she touched. Though her candle has gone from this world, its light continues to burn brightly in all of us.