BLAKESLEY, George

BLAKESLEY, WHITEIS, BLAIR, EBBERS, KEEFE, ANDERSON, JOHNSON, FLEMING

Posted By: Sharon R Becker (email)
Date: 10/30/2016 at 05:42:58

Obituary ~ George Blakesley
September 21, 1916 ~ July 26, 2003

The Globe Gazette
Mason City, Cerro Gordo County, Iowa
July 29, 2003

MASON CITY - George Blakesley, 86, of Mason City, died Saturday (July 26, 2003) at Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa.

His funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Grace United Methodist Church with the Rev. Sarah Odom officiating. Interment will follow at Elmwood-St. Joseph Cemetery, Mason City, where military honors will be conducted by the Mason City Veterans Memorial Association.

Visitation will be held from 5 until 7 p.m. Monday at Hogan Bremer Moore Colonial Chapel, 126 Third Street N.E., Mason City, and also for one hour prior to the service at the church. Memorials may be directed to the Mason City VFW Post 733.

George was born September 21, 1916, in Mason City, a son of Ray A. and Bessie Louise (Whiteis) Blakesley. He grew up in Mason City and graduated from Mason City High School. George was united in marriage to Lorraine Blair and to their union was born a daughter, Daun. He was later united in marriage to Mary Ebbers on January 22, 1966, at Grace United Methodist Church in Mason City and she preceded him in death in 1995.

George enlisted in the United States Navy in 1936 and served on the Flagship West Virginia until 1940. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, he re-enlisted in the United States Army and served in Europe for the duration of World War II. After his honorable discharge, George returned to Mason City and started the GI Cab Line with his brother, Forrest. He then worked as a custodian for Mason City Public Schools for approximately 25 years. For the majority of those years, he was the head custodian at McKinley Elementary School.

George retired in 1986 to enjoy his hobbies of building short-wave radios and music. He played both the guitar and harmonica. He was a member of Grace United Methodist Church and a lifetime member of the VFW Post 733.

George is survived by his daughter, Daun Keefe of Toledo, Iowa; two stepsons, Richard Ebbers of Baton Rouge, La., and Paul Ebbers and his wife, Sue, of Tallahassee, Fla.; two grandchildren, Joe Anderson and Liz Johnson and her husband, Greg; four step-grandchildren, Vince, Kurt, Hillary and Jason Ebbers; three great-grandchildren; two brothers, Robert Blakesley and his wife, Virginia, of Mason City, and Bill Blakesley and his wife, Lois, of Waterloo; a sister, Mary Fleming and her husband, Jerry, of Phoenix, Ariz., and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Mary, and four brothers, LaVerne, Clarence, Forrest, and Stanly.

Hogan Bremer Moore Colonial Chapel, (641) 423-2372.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2016