Parents
Burton Lloyd Blakely
Birth 15 Sep 1898 in Green, Mecosta, Michigan, United States
Death 12 Jun 1946 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Dorathy McCreary
Birth 3 Mar 1906 in Paris, Mecosta, Michigan, USA
Death 25 May 1998 in Jackson, Jackson, Michigan, United States of America
Half Siblings
Betty Jenkins
As a 22-year-old Navy fighter pilot during World War II, William N. Blakely Sr. found that "flying was one of his first loves," said his wife, Mary Louise Ashe Blakely.
"He flew a Hellcat off the Chenango, a converted oil tanker made into a light carrier, during the Battle of Okinawa and the Liberation of the Philippines," said his wife, who was the love of his life during their 57-year marriage.
She said he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Star for 20 wartime carrier missions from March through June 1945.
Mr. Blakely, a former president of the O'Hara Township board of commissioners, died Monday, Aug. 4, 2003, at UPMC St. Margaret, near Aspinwall. He was 80.
He had battled emphysema for several years and was hospitalized for a week before he died, said his son, Paul Blakely, of Arlington, Va.
Mrs. Blakely said she met her husband in Forest Hills, where they both lived at the time, at a church-sponsored party for sailors going off to World War II. She was a high school student and he was a recent graduate.
Mr. Blakely enlisted in the Navy at 19 and received his pilot's commission at 21. He served in the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade until 1961.
He was an O'Hara commissioner from 1962-68, first serving by appointment to fill an unexpired term, then winning a full term on his own.
When the couple moved to the Falconhurst section of O'Hara, Mr. Blakely had to leave office because he was living in a different voting district.
Mr. Blakely was employed by Bell Telephone Co. for 37 years, beginning as an installer and finally working in the engineering department in the independent company relations branch, his wife said.
After taking early retirement in 1983, during the companies' divestiture, "he enjoyed every minute of it," she said.
"We liked river boats. We took the Delta Queen as far as New Orleans and Minneapolis. We went on several cruises and took trips out west, and traveled to Alaska twice."
And Mrs. Blakely persuaded her husband to go on a trip to Tahiti, for a return visit to the South Pacific.
An avid golfer, Mr. Blakely served on the board of the Alcoma Country Club in Penn Hills, and was a member and president of the Fox Chapel Lions Club, and a charter member of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church.
Clarence Miller, a neighbor, said he and Mr. Blakely were friends dating back "almost to high school," and they later served as ushers at Fox Chapel Presbyterian.
Miller, a former Army pilot in Europe in World War II, said they played poker in a group with two other ex-pilots.
"He was a good man. More on the quiet side," Miller said of his friend. "We used to tell flying stories and get a kick out of that." In addition to his wife and son, Paul, Mr. Blakely is survived by a daughter, Sarah Blakely, of Kalispell, Mont.; two other sons, William N. Blakely Jr., of Butler, and James Blakely, of Chevy Chase, Md.; a sister, Betty Dayton, of Tacoma, Wash.; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel, where friends will be received after the service in the church atrium. Burial will be private.
The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor's choice
Burton Lloyd Blakely
Birth 15 Sep 1898 in Green, Mecosta, Michigan, United States
Death 12 Jun 1946 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Dorathy McCreary
Birth 3 Mar 1906 in Paris, Mecosta, Michigan, USA
Death 25 May 1998 in Jackson, Jackson, Michigan, United States of America
Half Siblings
Betty Jenkins
As a 22-year-old Navy fighter pilot during World War II, William N. Blakely Sr. found that "flying was one of his first loves," said his wife, Mary Louise Ashe Blakely.
"He flew a Hellcat off the Chenango, a converted oil tanker made into a light carrier, during the Battle of Okinawa and the Liberation of the Philippines," said his wife, who was the love of his life during their 57-year marriage.
She said he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Star for 20 wartime carrier missions from March through June 1945.
Mr. Blakely, a former president of the O'Hara Township board of commissioners, died Monday, Aug. 4, 2003, at UPMC St. Margaret, near Aspinwall. He was 80.
He had battled emphysema for several years and was hospitalized for a week before he died, said his son, Paul Blakely, of Arlington, Va.
Mrs. Blakely said she met her husband in Forest Hills, where they both lived at the time, at a church-sponsored party for sailors going off to World War II. She was a high school student and he was a recent graduate.
Mr. Blakely enlisted in the Navy at 19 and received his pilot's commission at 21. He served in the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade until 1961.
He was an O'Hara commissioner from 1962-68, first serving by appointment to fill an unexpired term, then winning a full term on his own.
When the couple moved to the Falconhurst section of O'Hara, Mr. Blakely had to leave office because he was living in a different voting district.
Mr. Blakely was employed by Bell Telephone Co. for 37 years, beginning as an installer and finally working in the engineering department in the independent company relations branch, his wife said.
After taking early retirement in 1983, during the companies' divestiture, "he enjoyed every minute of it," she said.
"We liked river boats. We took the Delta Queen as far as New Orleans and Minneapolis. We went on several cruises and took trips out west, and traveled to Alaska twice."
And Mrs. Blakely persuaded her husband to go on a trip to Tahiti, for a return visit to the South Pacific.
An avid golfer, Mr. Blakely served on the board of the Alcoma Country Club in Penn Hills, and was a member and president of the Fox Chapel Lions Club, and a charter member of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church.
Clarence Miller, a neighbor, said he and Mr. Blakely were friends dating back "almost to high school," and they later served as ushers at Fox Chapel Presbyterian.
Miller, a former Army pilot in Europe in World War II, said they played poker in a group with two other ex-pilots.
"He was a good man. More on the quiet side," Miller said of his friend. "We used to tell flying stories and get a kick out of that." In addition to his wife and son, Paul, Mr. Blakely is survived by a daughter, Sarah Blakely, of Kalispell, Mont.; two other sons, William N. Blakely Jr., of Butler, and James Blakely, of Chevy Chase, Md.; a sister, Betty Dayton, of Tacoma, Wash.; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel, where friends will be received after the service in the church atrium. Burial will be private.
The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor's choice
Parents
Burton Lloyd Blakely
Birth 15 Sep 1898 in Green, Mecosta, Michigan, United States
Death 12 Jun 1946 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Dorathy McCreary
Birth 3 Mar 1906 in Paris, Mecosta, Michigan, USA
Death 25 May 1998 in Jackson, Jackson, Michigan, United States of America
Half Siblings
Betty Jenkins
As a 22-year-old Navy fighter pilot during World War II, William N. Blakely Sr. found that "flying was one of his first loves," said his wife, Mary Louise Ashe Blakely.
"He flew a Hellcat off the Chenango, a converted oil tanker made into a light carrier, during the Battle of Okinawa and the Liberation of the Philippines," said his wife, who was the love of his life during their 57-year marriage.
She said he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Star for 20 wartime carrier missions from March through June 1945.
Mr. Blakely, a former president of the O'Hara Township board of commissioners, died Monday, Aug. 4, 2003, at UPMC St. Margaret, near Aspinwall. He was 80.
He had battled emphysema for several years and was hospitalized for a week before he died, said his son, Paul Blakely, of Arlington, Va.
Mrs. Blakely said she met her husband in Forest Hills, where they both lived at the time, at a church-sponsored party for sailors going off to World War II. She was a high school student and he was a recent graduate.
Mr. Blakely enlisted in the Navy at 19 and received his pilot's commission at 21. He served in the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade until 1961.
He was an O'Hara commissioner from 1962-68, first serving by appointment to fill an unexpired term, then winning a full term on his own.
When the couple moved to the Falconhurst section of O'Hara, Mr. Blakely had to leave office because he was living in a different voting district.
Mr. Blakely was employed by Bell Telephone Co. for 37 years, beginning as an installer and finally working in the engineering department in the independent company relations branch, his wife said.
After taking early retirement in 1983, during the companies' divestiture, "he enjoyed every minute of it," she said.
"We liked river boats. We took the Delta Queen as far as New Orleans and Minneapolis. We went on several cruises and took trips out west, and traveled to Alaska twice."
And Mrs. Blakely persuaded her husband to go on a trip to Tahiti, for a return visit to the South Pacific.
An avid golfer, Mr. Blakely served on the board of the Alcoma Country Club in Penn Hills, and was a member and president of the Fox Chapel Lions Club, and a charter member of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church.
Clarence Miller, a neighbor, said he and Mr. Blakely were friends dating back "almost to high school," and they later served as ushers at Fox Chapel Presbyterian.
Miller, a former Army pilot in Europe in World War II, said they played poker in a group with two other ex-pilots.
"He was a good man. More on the quiet side," Miller said of his friend. "We used to tell flying stories and get a kick out of that." In addition to his wife and son, Paul, Mr. Blakely is survived by a daughter, Sarah Blakely, of Kalispell, Mont.; two other sons, William N. Blakely Jr., of Butler, and James Blakely, of Chevy Chase, Md.; a sister, Betty Dayton, of Tacoma, Wash.; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel, where friends will be received after the service in the church atrium. Burial will be private.
The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor's choice
Burton Lloyd Blakely
Birth 15 Sep 1898 in Green, Mecosta, Michigan, United States
Death 12 Jun 1946 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States
Dorathy McCreary
Birth 3 Mar 1906 in Paris, Mecosta, Michigan, USA
Death 25 May 1998 in Jackson, Jackson, Michigan, United States of America
Half Siblings
Betty Jenkins
As a 22-year-old Navy fighter pilot during World War II, William N. Blakely Sr. found that "flying was one of his first loves," said his wife, Mary Louise Ashe Blakely.
"He flew a Hellcat off the Chenango, a converted oil tanker made into a light carrier, during the Battle of Okinawa and the Liberation of the Philippines," said his wife, who was the love of his life during their 57-year marriage.
She said he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Gold Star for 20 wartime carrier missions from March through June 1945.
Mr. Blakely, a former president of the O'Hara Township board of commissioners, died Monday, Aug. 4, 2003, at UPMC St. Margaret, near Aspinwall. He was 80.
He had battled emphysema for several years and was hospitalized for a week before he died, said his son, Paul Blakely, of Arlington, Va.
Mrs. Blakely said she met her husband in Forest Hills, where they both lived at the time, at a church-sponsored party for sailors going off to World War II. She was a high school student and he was a recent graduate.
Mr. Blakely enlisted in the Navy at 19 and received his pilot's commission at 21. He served in the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant junior grade until 1961.
He was an O'Hara commissioner from 1962-68, first serving by appointment to fill an unexpired term, then winning a full term on his own.
When the couple moved to the Falconhurst section of O'Hara, Mr. Blakely had to leave office because he was living in a different voting district.
Mr. Blakely was employed by Bell Telephone Co. for 37 years, beginning as an installer and finally working in the engineering department in the independent company relations branch, his wife said.
After taking early retirement in 1983, during the companies' divestiture, "he enjoyed every minute of it," she said.
"We liked river boats. We took the Delta Queen as far as New Orleans and Minneapolis. We went on several cruises and took trips out west, and traveled to Alaska twice."
And Mrs. Blakely persuaded her husband to go on a trip to Tahiti, for a return visit to the South Pacific.
An avid golfer, Mr. Blakely served on the board of the Alcoma Country Club in Penn Hills, and was a member and president of the Fox Chapel Lions Club, and a charter member of Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church.
Clarence Miller, a neighbor, said he and Mr. Blakely were friends dating back "almost to high school," and they later served as ushers at Fox Chapel Presbyterian.
Miller, a former Army pilot in Europe in World War II, said they played poker in a group with two other ex-pilots.
"He was a good man. More on the quiet side," Miller said of his friend. "We used to tell flying stories and get a kick out of that." In addition to his wife and son, Paul, Mr. Blakely is survived by a daughter, Sarah Blakely, of Kalispell, Mont.; two other sons, William N. Blakely Jr., of Butler, and James Blakely, of Chevy Chase, Md.; a sister, Betty Dayton, of Tacoma, Wash.; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road, Fox Chapel, where friends will be received after the service in the church atrium. Burial will be private.
The family suggests that memorial contributions may be made to Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church or a charity of the donor's choice
Gravesite Details
LT US NAVY Cremated (Related by 1st cousin 2x removed)
Family Members
Parents
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