Terence Blogg

Terence’s family was forced to leave their home due to the dangers of living in London during World War II. He grew up with his Aunt and Uncle in the small village of Bishopsteignton in South Devon, England.

Terence recounted once as a very young boy in Bishopsteignton, England – word came the King would be coming through to visit. He had built this up in his mind that the King would arrive by train – and stop to wave and greet the cheering people of the village. The people were excited and he was sure it would be a memorable event. Instead as the townspeople gathered at the station – the King’s train sped through without stopping, and the moment was over in seconds. He recalled all being very disappointed at the time, but he was able to find humor in that later.

After the war, at 12 years old he moved to the United States with his Aunt and Uncle. They lived in a 2 story house in a suburb of Buffalo NY. He enrolled in High School at 12 years, and graduated early. He then attended Union College in Schenectady NY earning a degree in Economics. After college he enlisted in the United States Army to learn Computer Programming. At that time this was a new field that most people had not heard of. After the Army he moved to Philadelphia to work for IBM. He accepted a job out west in Arizona, and later join the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT).

While in Phoenix, Terence met Irene Arellano at a Ballroom Dance studio. They would later marry and have 3 children – Terry, Michael, and Penelope. He raised his family in Glendale AZ where all of his children would graduate from Arizona State University.

Terence would work for ADOT for the next 35 years until retiring. While at ADOT Terence was the lead systems engineer moving the Agency onto a mainframe computing platform, and helped to connect disparate systems. This would later be used as a model for other Agencies across the country. Terence also led various other technical projects that saw ADOT become one of the premiere state agencies as it related to computing modernization.

After the end of his marriage, Terence met Azucena Greth. They would be partners until his passing.

In retirement, Terence was finally able to return to England for a visit—his first time back since leaving as a young boy. Returning to his childhood home and visiting his brothers was a journey Terence had waited his whole life to make. He enjoyed the simple things in life, such as going to estate sales, watching movies, reading books, and tending to his house and yard. He was happy to have retired while still in good health, and was able to enjoy his later years on his own terms.

Terence continued to be a source of knowledge, advice, and support for his 3 children. He was loved by them, along with his 4 grandchildren, and great granddaughter.

Terence was passionate about World War 2 history, enjoyed camping with his family, exploring Arizona, reading the newspaper, watching the evening news, reading books, took pride in his lawn and yardwork, enjoyed watching movies, and liked a good boxing match. He took great pride in his English heritage, but loved being a United States citizen.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Phyllis Maude Blogg and older brother Peter Blogg.

He is survived by children Terry, Michael, Penelope, grandchildren Connor, Sydney, Trent, Ashlyn, great granddaughter, Bella, and partner, Azucena.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at Hospice of the Valley, Thunderbird for their unbelievably compassionate care for Dad in his final days.

A burial service will be held on October 10, 2025, from 10:00 am to 10:30 am at the Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery, 2300 W Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ 85009, United States.