Dubé, Betty Blankenship (1918-2012)

DUBÉ, BOHLINGER, BLANKENSHIP, MARTIN

Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 8/11/2012 at 14:41:31

Betty Blankenship Dubé
November 29, 1918 - June 29, 2012

Elizabeth Mary Blankenship Dubé, 93, formerly of Storm Lake and recently of Mahtomedi, Minnesota, died on June 29, 2012, at St. Andrew's Village.

She was born on November 29, 1918, in Indianapolis, Indiana, the only child of Herbert and Elsie Grace Bohlinger. In 1941, she married John M. Blankenship. He preceded her in death in 1972. In 1979, she married retired Alcoa executive Lawrence E. Dubé ("Larry"). They made their home in Sarasota, Florida, until his death in 2006, after which she relocated to Minnesota where for many years the family had maintained a summer residence.

Betty and John moved to Storm Lake with their children in 1945 and lived there until 1953. They were active members of Lakeside Presbyterian Church, and Betty was involved in various community organizations, among them P.E.O. Her husband, John, managed the Kingan & Co. packing plant in Storm Lake and then for a dozen years was an executive with John Morrell & Co. in Ottumwa. After his retirement, they relocated to Tallahassee, Florida. Before moving to Storm Lake, the family lived in Indianapolis and later in LaGrange, Illinois.

Betty graduated from Washington High School in Indianapolis, where she was the Queen of May, and then from Indiana Central Business College. She served as a legal secretary in the law firm of Goodrich and Campbell until the birth of her first child. A trained soprano, she sang in professional choirs there, but discontinued performing after her marriage. In addition to music, Betty loved antiques and libraries, and in both her youth and her Sarasota years, she patronized the latter daily. She was called "Gretty" by her grandchildren and "Elizabeth" by her husband, Larry. Known for her gracious conversation as well as her beauty, she was also a very hard worker.

Betty is survived by her son, Bruce Blankenship, of Flagstaff, Arizona; her daughters, Jayne Blankenship, of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary B. Martin, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Larry's son, Lawrence E. Dubé, Jr., of Baltimore, as well as by four grandchildren, two step-grandsons, two great-granddaughters, and one step-great-granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. on July 28, 2012, at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach. Betty's body has been cremated and will be privately interred beside her husband's, John's grave, in Tallahassee the following week.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Storm Lake Public Library.

© Copyright 2012, Storm Lake Pilot Tribune

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