Morton Irvin Blankman

On February 15, 2021 Morton Irvin Blankman died peacefully at this beloved home overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was born on April 4, 1932 the “love child” of Meyer Blankman, Baltimore entrepreneur and “man about town” and Meyer’s beloved, Rose. Little Morty (nicknamed “Spanky”) was soon the talk of the Atlantic City Boardwalk, joining his parents in a high chair, to eat seafood a the best restaurants in his custom-made clothing. A life-long love of nutritious food, instilled by both of his parents, contributed greatly to Mort, at age 87, becoming the oldest person in the WORLD (!) to successfully come off of the ECMO machine. Thanks to Doctors Sodhi and Yount he survived a cardiac arrest, which in true Spanky fashion he had in the best possible place, the UVA Medical Center Cath Lab. Raised in Baltimore during the Depression and World War II, Mort inherited Meyer’s talent for entrepreneurship – he was helping print shops, being run by wives and their fathers while the husbands were off fighting, stay in business by getting them printing jobs at the age of 10! After graduating in psychology and economics (a thoughtful combination) and doing ROTC at the University of Maryland, he activated his commission in the U. S. Army in the early 1950’s. He was one of 37 young men, out of a group of 250 of the only college graduates to enlist in the Army that year, to survive a year of grueling training, running ten miles out and ten miles back in all types of terrain first thing each morning. Then doing chin ups, one more than the day before, on the Mess Hall door frame all before breakfast. These young men were the field leaders of the “new Special Forces” rebuilt after devastating losses during WWII. Mort was able to accomplish a very difficult mission which lead to him being promoted to be the Executive Officer of the Commander of the Special Forces. He was very proud that he trained many men who would have otherwise been “rakes and thieves” to put their skills to work for the good of their country. Mort left the Army when Meyer suffered a stroke and died in early 1960. He was soon invited to start a “corporate division” at John Roberts, the major supplier of school rings at that time. He did so with great success, emulating his father’s business empire but on a nation-wide level. Through no fault of his he was forced to re-invent his career and later became a sought-after consultant to top “angel capital” companies working on several deals involving now well-known names. He was a thinker, a reader and a student of the human condition. He knew tragedy and heart-ache during his long life but never let that embitter him. He was always a gentleman, wise but not stuffy, a great cook – with a special skill at seasoning, always well-groomed and dressed and driving an immaculate car. It was while he was caring for his beloved older sister, Lorraine, that he met the love of his life, Gail. Gail is “Sparky” to Mort’s “Spanky.” After 11 years of him supporting her career, they retired, in early 2019, to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. He got sick in October of that year but not before they enjoyed a summer of the Wintergreen Music Festival while settling into their lovely new home. Thanks to the great skills of a team of medical miracle-workers, led by Doctors Nishtha Sodhi and Kenan Yount, Mort survived and was able to come home to Gail for the past nine months. He was a fighter! He survived three bouts of sepsis, emergency stomach and prostate surgeries, a tracheostomy and dialysis but finally his mortal body had had enough. Morton Blankman is survived by his beloved Sparky. There will be no services at this time but hopefully there can be a Celebration of his incredible Life when this horrible pandemic has been wrestled to the ground. If you wish, please consider making a donation to either the Wilmer Eye Institute of Johns Hopkins Hospital or the Wintergreen Music Festival to honor Mort’s life. Donations in Mort’s memory can be made to the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine via this link: https://secure.jhu.edu/form/wilmer Please Indicate “The Work of Dr. Allen Eghrari.” So that we are alerted of your thoughtful gift, please note that your donation is in memory of Mort. If you wish to send a check, you can print, complete, and mail this form with your donation. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o01t14ikdWyesLUj5BVnRZKAAZWk8q32/view?usp=sharing Checks can be made payable to “Johns Hopkins.” Please indicate “In memory of Mort Blankman” in the memo line and mail to: Johns Hopkins Medicine Attn: Wilmer Eye Institute 750 East Pratt Street, 17th Floor Baltimore, MD 21202 Many thanks to all of the dedicated medical personnel who did their best to get Mort back home. At home he benefited from the loving care of Connie, Karen, Angie, Samantha, Lucy, Cathy, Kelsey, Pam, and Christina AND the “Rosebuds”, especially Claudette, Marty, Sally and Gin. A special thank you to Rick, who never knew Mort but shared his “stuff” with him and that angel, Annie Dodd of “All Blessings Flow.”