Barbara Coleman Blankfield

Barbara Jean Coleman Blankfield passed away in the loving arms of her only child Steven on December 4, in the Neuro ICU of Baptist Hospital Downtown Jacksonville where she had been admitted and he had lived with her since November 1.

Barbara had been in Steven's constant care since January of 2007, ultimately living with him in her own hospital room in his home. They shared every day & activity together. Her doctors all considered her their miracle patient as she fought off myriad co-morbidities for a decade. They attributed her miraculous resilience to their profound mother & son love for & dedication to each another.

Barbara was the prettiest little girl & young adult in Jacksonville. Upon high school graduation she went to the then Women's School F.S.U. She then worked for Crown Cork & Seal & then State Farm Insurance as an Executive Secretary, when she was crowned Miss Southeast Beauty Queen in 1954. She married Marks R. Blankfield & they resided in Jacksonville until she became pregnant & they moved to Richmond VA when Marks accepted a transfer promotion & Steven was born in 1964.

Barbara was the ideal & perfect stay at home mother & as Steven grew up she never failed to meet every school bus pick up & drop off. She participated in her Chester Baptist Church & Sunday School Class. She participated in, or coordinated, every single aspect of Steven's childhood life as classroom mother in all grades at school, Den Mother for Cub Scouts, Vacation Bible School Teacher, Stage Mother at Richmond Children's Theater, Soccer, Baseball, Football & Equestrian Mom & never failed to participate in all of his homework assignments while packing his lunch and having every breakfast & dinner on the table for family meals every day, from kindergarten through his high school graduation. She was the most perfect over-loving mother a boy ever had.

After Steven's undergraduate degree was conferred in 1987, the family relocated back to Jacksonville, building a new home in Hidden Hills. In that same year Barbara was diagnosed with Leukemia. In 1992 Barbara & Marks helped Steven buy his first home in their same neighborhood just four blocks away from them. For the next six years Barbara still prepared supper for the family to eat together at the table every night at 5:30pm. In 1997 Steven embarked on his 10 year rock-n-roll concert tour odyssey around the world, keeping in touch with his mom daily, no matter what or where he was, they never failed to tell each other they loved each other every day. While Steven was home for the holidays in January 2007, Barbara was diagnosed with CHF and hospitalized. Steven quit his band to become her fulltime caregiver. When her husband Marks passed away in June 2010, for whom Steven also cared, Barbara was presented with his encased military flag that she proudly displayed. In 2012, after a series of hospitalizations & the addition of a new Lymphoma diagnosis, Steven decided to sell his mother's home & create a hospital setting for her in his home, where for her remaining years, he administered all of her care and watched over her life 24/7. They loved & enjoyed each other completely and were never apart. On Mother’s Day 2017, Barbara fell badly at home and was hospitalized on eight occasions over the next six months from injuries & complications. She finally departed for Heaven both under the very evident protecting grace of God and in Steven's loving arms with hugs & kisses, peacefully; knowing & feeling with certainty, that she was the most beautiful & beloved mother ever.

A visitation will be held at 1:00pm followed by the funeral service at 2:00pm on Wednesday December 13, 2017 at Greenlawn Chapel, 4300 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville FL 32207. Burial at Greenlawn Cemetery will follow the funeral service. Arrangements are under the care of Hardage-Giddens Greenlawn, 4300 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville FL 32207.