Obituary of Mary Virginia Blankenship

Mary Virginia Blankenship Our Mother, Mary Virginia Blankenship, died May 30, 2006 in Olympia, Washington following a long illness. She was born January 31, 1924 in Ritzville, Washington to George and Rosanna Gault. Mom graduated from Olympia High School 1942 and attended Linfield College before enlisting in the Navy during WWII as a Wave. She married Nathaniel Blankenship of Olympia in 1952 and was preceded in death by him on November 4, 2003. She is survived by her brother, George (Dorotha) Gault of Colfax, Washington and three sons, Ralph (Charen) of Olympia, Steve (Kathi) of Silverlake, Washington and Curtis (Leslie) of Sumner, Washington, eight grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Our mother was best known as a homemaker and more specifically as an A+ mom. We thought of her as our very own June Cleaver. And like June, she served outstanding and promptly served meals! One of mom’s more infamous contributions was her chocolate chip cookies from her seemingly bottomless cookie jar. Family and friends could count on chocolate chip cookies by merely finding the cookie jar. Mom enjoyed circle, alter guild, volunteering to help with events, and her friendships at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church during her over 50 years of membership there. She very bravely was a cub scout den leader. Also she enjoyed gardening, boating, and model airplane flying with our Dad. Even though Mom suffered from the effects of Alzheimer’s, the disease was not successful in stealing her love of her three boys or her great sense of humor. A memorial service for mom will be held Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 5:00 p.m. at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 1515 Harrison Avenue NW, Olympia.