Mary Elaine Blake

Mary (Elaine) Blake, 85 of Pasadena died peacefully (June 19, 2022) in hospice care surrounded by her family. She was born February 23, 1937 in Stacyville, Iowa. She was the eldest daughter of Dr. Theodore and Doris Blong. She was married to Quentin Charles Blake of Stacyville on August 10, 1957. She attended Visitation School in Stacyville and went on to college at Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and finished at the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1959.

After marrying in college in 1957 and starting a family with 4 children in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the family then moved to Pasadena, Texas in 1967. She taught part time until she and her husband Quentin formed Able Printing Company in 1973. The family owned company operated for 35 years until retirement. She also obtained a Teachers Certification in the state of Texas in 1986.

Her ministries included the food pantry, church festivals, church women’s club, church finance volunteer, and decades of teaching in Catholic Christian education. She was also an avid bridge player and organized several bridge groups in the Pasadena, Texas area throughout her retirement years.

She is preceded in death by her husband Quentin (October 4, 2016) and her brothers (John and Theodore) and survived by her sisters (Carol and Ruth). Elaine’s legacy lives on through her children (James Anthony, John William, Ann Marie, and Joseph Edward) and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Mom was known as a quiet and capable leader in family matters and in many of the other community endeavors in which she participated. Her loving life can be summed up in the following verse from Proverbs 31: 31-30.

“But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.”

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.grandviewfunerals.com for the Blake family.