Visitation will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 5, 2018 at the Roswell Funeral Home, 950 Mansell Road, Roswell, Georgia.
Funeral services will be held at noon on Friday, January 5, 2018 at the Roswell Funeral Home with the Rev. Bill Nisbet of Roswell Presbyterian Church officiating. Arrangements are by Roswell Funeral Home.
Mary Jane was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, to John and Marjorie Gast on September 6, 1933. She married Frederick Bloemeke on December 28,1968. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bethany College with a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry, then with a Masters in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She was a Dow Corning Chemistry Research Fellow at Mellon Institute and later the Head Librarian of the Physics and Chemistry Libraries at the University of Pittsburgh. She was the treasurer of the Asheville Symphony and the Carolina Day School in North Carolina and also served as a museum docent. An avid gardener, she was an orchid enthusiast and won awards for her arrangements at juried floral shows when she was a resident of Greeneville, Tennessee. Needlepoint was also a forte. Highly active, she practiced Tai Chi, swimming, and skiing. As an acrylic and watercolor painter, she was known for her landscapes and portraits, and was inspired by the work of Mondrian and O’Keeffe. She enjoyed international travel and visited Australia and New Zealand, Italy, England, France, Egypt, Germany, Canada, Spain and Austria. She took great joy in gourmet cooking for family and friends and was known for her expertly appointed dinner parties. She was also an ardent fan of British novelists, the ballet—especially The Nutcracker—and the symphony.
Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents, John and Marjorie Gast, and her brother, Peter Gast.
Mary Jane is survived by her husband Frederick Bloemeke, her sons Mark and Eric Bloemeke, her daughter-in-law Julie (Payne) Bloemeke, her sister, Marilyn (Gast) O’Neill, and her grandchildren, Gareth and Phoebe Bloemeke.
Pallbearers will be her sons, Eric Bloemeke and Mark Bloemeke; her nephews, Mike O’Neill and Steve O’Neill; her grandson, Gareth Bloemeke; and Julie’s brother, Robert Payne.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bethany College in Bethany, West Virginia.
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