Tony Blalock

Harvey Anthony (Tony) Blalock, Ph.D. died at his home in Gainesville, Florida on Sunday, February 11th 2024. He was 79 years old.
Dr. Tony Blalock was born in Asuncion, Paraguay on August 29th, 1944 to Harvey and Dalia Blalock. When Tony was in elementary school, the family moved to Homestead, Florida. While in high school, he earned the honor of being selected as a National Merit Scholar, competed on the track team, and was voted “Most Intelligent” by his peers in his senior year.

Tony then attended the University of Florida and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry on August 24, 1974, and went on to earn his Ph.D. in Microbiology from UF on August 26, 1978. He began his career with Santa Fe College in the fall of 1976. Tony served as a reserve police officer with the Gainesville Police Department starting in January of 1983. He was appointed by the governor of Florida to two terms as a member of the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, last serving as Vice Chairman. Tony was also appointed to be the Director of the Santa Fe Institute of Public Safety and also served as the Chief of Police for the Santa Fe College Police Department until 2004. Tony’s 30 year career at Santa Fe culminated with his position as Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs, from which he retired in 2006.

During retirement, Tony enjoyed traveling with Carol, his wife of 42 years, until her passing in 2018. He continued to enrich the lives of friends and family, and was also a lifelong Gator fan! Tony is survived by his 3 daughters, Jeanne Blalock of St. Johns, FL, Tricia Blalock Hoffine (Paul) of Orlando, FL, Elizabeth Blalock Bartell (Rodney) of Rock Hill, SC, nine grandchildren, one great grandchild and his sister Inez Hanson.
Memorial Service will be at Milam Funeral Home at 2:00 pm Saturday, February 17. Address: 311 S Main St; Gainesville, FL 32601. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Tunnels to Towers Foundation. https://t2t.org/