Millie Loomer

Millie Loomer, 86, longtime Renton/Newcastle resident, died in her home over Mother’s Day weekend on Saturday, May 11th, just before noon. It was forecast to rain most of last week and into the weekend, but it was one of the warmest and sunniest weeks in recent years in the Seattle area. In her last days and hours, Millie was surrounded by all of her children, many of her grandchildren, and even some of her great-grandchildren.

Millie was born Emma Mildred Quincy on November 18th, 1926, in Whitakers, North Carolina, a farming and railroad town where her father was a sharecropper and where she lived and went to school until her late teens. She then moved to Richmond, Virginia to live with her aunt, where she worked for the Civil Defense program during World War II and sang songs like her favorite, “Deep Purple”, at the USO in Richmond. Millie’s passion for music continued throughout her life, and she was known to breakout in song and dance while making dinner or baking in the kitchen.

Millie met Murdoch Blakesley while she was living in Richmond, and they got married and then moved to Seattle, where Millie’s first three children were born: Barry Steven Blakesley, and Susan Gay Blakesley, Cathy Ann Blakesley. Millie was a hardworking mother, working both at home and at Boeing, specializing in benefits and retirement planning in the Human Resources department. In the late 1950s, Millie met and married Alexander Loomer, who also worked at Boeing, and the whole family soon moved into a Pan-Abode Log Home in Renton (area that is now Newcastle) and had two sons: Scott Alexander Loomer and Timothy Brian Loomer. Al Loomer died unexpectedly in 1968, and Millie continued her career at Boeing while raising her two young sons until her retirement after almost 25 years in the late 1980s. Millie was a member and attended First Baptist Church of Seattle for many years.

Millie spent much of her retirement travelling with friends and family, taking several trips to Europe, going on an Alaskan cruise, and taking trips to the beach in Florida. When she wasn’t travelling, she was cooking or hosting dinners at home (including almost every major holiday dinner). Millie loved to be outside and in the sun, whether it was poolside, at the beach, or in her garden. Millie had a keen fashion sense and was stunningly beautiful, and her outward beauty was only exceeded by her inner beauty, strength, and compassion. Millie will be remembered for being a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was the type of mother that left out a pie or cobbler when she knew she had a child coming over; a grandmother that attended almost every play, performance, and event that she could, always clapping the loudest; a great-grandmother that got down on the floor to play, even well into her 80s, and always had the patience to stop to read a storybook, play a game, color a picture, or even crawl into a makeshift cardboard castle to play pretend. She had a beautiful smile and laugh that will be missed, but that will carry on in the smiles and laughter of her family, who grew closer even as she passed away.

Millie is preceded in death by her parents, Marvin Lee Quincy and Margaret Leona Gay Quincy, her cousin Jesse Worrell, her husband, Alexander Hale Loomer, and her later in life partner, Walter Dragin.

Millie is survived by all five of her children: Barry Blakesley (and husband Glenn Smith) of Seattle, WA, Susan Blakesley Bordenet (and husband Jim Bordenet) of Redmond, WA, Cathy Blakesley Lee (and husband Steve Lee) of Kirkland, WA, Scott Alexander Loomer of Bothell, WA, and Timothy Brian Loomer (and wife Valorie Brown Loomer) of Delray Beach, FL; seven grandchildren: Matt Bordenet (and wife Paula Bordenet) of Sammamish, WA; Mark Bordenet (and wife Ariel Bordenet) of Brooklyn, NY; Sarah Bordenet of Redmond, WA; Molly Sandvick Turetsky (and husband Matt Turetsky) of Newcastle, WA; Carrie Sandvick (and partner Xandie Salstrom) of Seattle, WA, Dylan Loomer of Delray Beach, FL and Wyatt Loomer of Delray Beach, FL; six great-grandchildren: Drew Bordenet, Madeline Bordenet, Emma Bordenet, Emmet Bordenet, Anna Turetsky, Quinn Turetsky.

She is also survived by her younger sister, Jean Quincy Flye (and husband Bruce Flye) of Battelboro, NC, nephews Bruce Flye (and wife Phyllis Flye) of Greenville, NC, Randy Flye (and wife Laura Flye) of Battelboro, NC, neice Beth Flye of Chapel Hill, NC, and several great nieces and nephews.

Millie is also survived by her beloved dog and companion, Jackson, who has kindly been adopted by granddaughter Carrie and Zandie.

Just a few days before her death, Millie gave the following Mother’s Day advice on raising children:

"Always be patient with your children. Exceedingly patient. Make your children know, every minute of every day, just how much you love them. Never make them doubt it. Whatever else you do, make them mind and respect you."

It is no wonder that her children were by her side until the very end.