Elizabeth Logrecco Blaine

November 11, 1938 – June 19, 2026

“Sogni d’oro”

On June 19th, Elizabeth Blaine passed away peacefully at home with family members gathered near. She leaves behind a legacy of love and devotion to her family and friends and to her community.

Elizabeth was born in an Italian neighborhood of Los Angeles to Dominic and Josephine Logrecco. At age nine, her family moved to a ranch in Delano where her father grew grapes. She graduated from Delano High School as valedictorian and attended Stanford University where she met her husband Mike. They married in 1960, and while raising three children, moved six times in their first 12 years of marriage, including a three-year stint in Germany. Liz immediately made life-long friends at every stop.

When they moved to Bakersfield in 1972, she joined the Racquet Club where she played tennis and bridge with the same group of friends for years. She was a gourmet cook and loved to entertain, and there was always room for one more at the table.

She was very active in the community, she belonged to the Theta Eta Philanthropic Sorority and Symphony Associates, she was president of the Women of Italian Heritage, she served on the Kern County grand jury, she served as secretary of Blue Ribbon Circle, she chaired the BMOA Board, and she oversaw the accreditation process that made BMOA the first accredited art museum in the San Joaquin Valley.

Liz’s first paid job was teaching freshman English in a Catholic High School in Berkeley. When her kids were grown, she wrote a column called “Out and About” for The Bakersfield Californian. Her daughter-in-law recalls when first dating Liz’s son how fun it was to be invited to all of the fundraisers, concerts and events that Liz attended and wrote about. Later, Liz became a grant writer for the Bakersfield Museum of Art and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their new building.

Ever curious, and always learning, whether it be perfecting her Italian, Spanish or German, curating a lifelong passion for Michaelangelo’s statue of David, or creating outstanding dishes and meals, Liz was an avid self-taught student, which bubbled over into her being an incredible teacher and wonderful hostess. She shared her love and appreciation of art and music with everyone she encountered. She loved to travel. Whenever possible, she and Mike traveled the world, sometimes with family or friends, but rarely with a guide, since she always did so much research ahead of time.

Her favorite title was Nana. She taught every grandchild their first poem, 'I See the Moon', and taught them how to recite it back; she ended each bedtime tuck-in with “Sogni d’oro” – affectionately blessing and bidding “golden dreams” to the lucky recipient. She was a constant grandchild cheerleader, attending countless concerts, “firsts,” and endless sporting events, as well as organizing travel excursions tailored to individual family member interests. She was a master birthday cake baker with her husband. The two combined her baking talents with his engineering and design prowess to create birthday cakes that launched, spun, exploded or squirted water on command – all the while tasting heavenly.

Her laugh was infectious and she found joy in the smallest triumphs, from a bulb suddenly blooming in her yard, to her grandchild taking a first step. She kept family tradition alive with annual Christmas fig cookie baking, Easter egg hunts and making raisins. She made those around her appreciate what was right in front of them, but also believed that if you kept your dreams real and true they would eventually come true through faith and prayer.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Jeanette Logrecco-Weiss. She is survived by Mike, her husband of nearly 66 years; her daughter Susan Hamilton (Chris), her son David (Christina) and her son Michael (Aimee); her six grandchildren: Jennifer Burrows (Adam), Melissa and David Hamilton, Margaret (fiancé Kameron) and Patrick Blaine, and Michael Alexander Blaine; two great-grandchildren, Alice and James Burrows; her sister Donna Logrecco (Luis Lopez) and her niece Kevan Christine Lopez.; and her beloved dog Sadie.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Elizabeth’s name to the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Building Fund or to a charity of your choice.