Bland Painter of Troutville and owner of Thriftway Market died Monday. He had been ill for several months with pancreatic cancer. He died of an apparent heart attack, however. He told The Botetourt View last summer that the truck he is pictured in above was very much like the early delivery truck they had when he was a young fellow.  He kept a journal in the store for those using the Bicentennial Bike Route 76 and the hikers on the Appalachian Trail could sign in, as he served both due to the store’s location.

Thriftway as a store has been an icon in Troutville for almost a century. Painter was 83.