Helen A. Blake died October 19, 2018, at the age of 96 at her home in South Pasadena, FL. She was born on the same couch as her father, in the same room of the same house in the same town, Lakeside, Ohio on November 29, 1921.
Helen lived most of her growing up years in Texas. During the depression she lived with her mother and father, Margaret and George Akins in Ft. Worth, TX. After her mother died she finished high school in McCamey, TX, where she got her first job as switchboard operator. She moved on to nurses training in Oklahoma City where she met Charles Blake on a blind date at a roller rink. Helen and Charles (Lt. Col (Ret) were married on June 9, 1943, in San Antonio, TX. Helen and Charles (who died in 2001) were married for 58 years. They have four children and spouses, including Marilyn (who died in 2014), & Vincent Rumore, Charlotte & John Tenney, Wesley Chapel, FL, Tricia & Dick Rahter, St. Pete Beach, FL and Robert Blake, South Pasadena, FL. She also has nine grandchildren, Michael, Christina, Gordy, Tony, Randy, Erin, Jacqueline, Isabella and Justin and eight great grandchildren, Gianna, Mia, Madigan, Baylor, Aeralyn, Kristina, Antonia, and Carter.
Helen saw many changes over her life of 96 years. She traveled across the United States, Great Britain and Germany, raising her 4 children with Charles, during his military career in the Air Force. She talked of living with Charles’ mother, Imogene Blake, and his sisters during WWII while Charles was in India. In post war Great Britain it was coal-burning stoves and banking fires in the fireplaces. She worked throughout her travels with the U. S. Civil Service including time with the American Youth Activities on Rhine/Main Air Base in Germany, the U.S. Army in Hampton, Virginia, and the U. S. Air Force in Tampa, Florida (MacDill Air Base). When Charles retired from the Air Force in 1970 they moved to Lutz, FL. Helen could now focus on her own education, career and interests. She earned an Associate of Science degree, acquired accreditation as Medical Records Technician and worked at the U. S. James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Fl, before she retired in 1978.
Her passions included her children and grandchildren, chocolate, genealogy, painting, playing the piano, travel and adventures. She and Charles lived on Lake Wilson in Lutz and loved having the kids and grandkids and other family visit and enjoy the lake and the Florida weather. She golfed, gardened and started her ancestry work. When she started researching the family genealogy in the 1970’s, she would visit cemeteries throughout Ohio, research church records, and spend hours in libraries looking at microfiche databases building a Ancestry.com database of over 550 people. Helen was a woman before her time. A strong advocate in women’s rights, primarily expressed by assuring her three daughters all had the opportunity to attend college and develop the future they wanted. Helen also wanted her grandchildren conversant with computers when they first came out for home use. She knew computers would be integral part of everyone’s lives so she bought a Radio Shack home computer and typed in line by line the program for games so her grandchildren would play them when they visit and learn how to use computers.
Helen never wanted to slow down. She flew in a hot air balloon on her 80th birthday and in a helicopter over the glacier in Juneau, AK on her 85th. Her mantra till the day she died was song:
“Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Enjoy yourself, while you're still in the pink. The years go by, as quickly as a wink. Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.”.
A memorial service will be held, Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 11 am in the Chapel at the Pasadena Community Church in St. Petersburg. Donations may be made to: St Petersburg Health Center-Planned Parenthood, CASA- St Petersburg, or Nell’s Fund, a local non-profit charity that rehabilitates homeless and abandoned pets In Pinellas County and finds them forever homes. The 501(c)(3) is based out of the Lake Seminole Animal Hospital in Seminole, FL (www.Nellsfund.org) which is owned and operated by Dr. Michael Rumore.
