Mary Helen Blauw 1936 - 2016
BLAUW, CRAWFORD
Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/19/2016 at 20:43:15
Onawa Democrat
5 October 2016Mary Helen Blauw, 79, of Onawa, Iowa, passed away Thursday, September 1, 2016, at a hospice center in Omaha, Nebraska, surrounded by her family.
Mary was born on November 14, 1936 in Clay Center, Nebraska, the daughter of Frank and Dorothy Crawford. She grew up in Clay Center until the family moved to a farm near Soldier, Iowa, where she preferred to help with outdoor chores rather than cooking and cleaning indoors. She graduated from Soldier High School in 1955 and then attended business school in Omaha, Nebraska.
Mary was working full-time in Omaha when she met and fell in love with Donald Blauw. They were married on February 16, 1958, at her parents' home in Soldier. They lived in Irvington, Nebraska, where Mary gave birth to four daughters: Diana, Judy, Brenda, and Annette. Mary was a stay-at-home mother who enjoyed many volunteer activities. She spent many hours babysitting children in the church nursery, helping Diana and Judy with many 4-H sewing projects, and gardening.
In 1981, Mary, Don, Brenda, and Annette moved to Gilbert, Iowa, where Mary continued to volunteer at church and 4-H. Then in 1989, she went back to work as a cashier and bookkeeper at a grocery store in Ames, Iowa. She worked at the grocery store for many years until she retired to help care for her mother.
After her mother passed away, Mary moved to Onawa, Iowa, and began volunteering at Burgess Health Center and for many committees at the Onawa United Methodist Church.
She is survived by her four daughters and their husbands, Diana and James Moeller of Omaha, NE, Judy and David Andersen of Mesa, AZ, Brenda and Greg Ellingson of Quincy, IL, and Annette and Jon Phares of Phoenix, AZ; ten grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Donald Blauw, and her two brothers, John and James Crawford.
Memorial services will be held 10:30 A.M. Monday, October 10, 2016 at the United Methodist Church in Onawa, Iowa, with Pastor Dennis M. Burns officiating. Music selections will include the congregation singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness", "It Is Well", and "Because He Lives" with Ruth Jordan as Organist. Judy Andersen, soloist, will sing "In The Garden" with Michael Johnson as Pianist. Burial will follow in Belvidere Cemetery, Turin, Iowa. Arrangements are under the direction of Rush Family Care Service in Onawa.
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