Obituary: Joanne Marie Blake, 79, of Middletown

Joanne Marie Blake, 79, of Middletown, died on July 9, 2016 due to injuries from an automobile accident. Born in Middletown, she was the daughter of the late Herbert Frank Blake and Lillian (Hraba) Blake.

Joanne lived in Middletown all of her life and graduated Middletown High School, Class of 1954. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science with a focus in Business Education from Teachers College of Connecticut (now Central Connecticut State University), Class of 1958 and a Masters in Science with a concentration in Secretarial Studies, with a minor in accounting from Central Connecticut State University in 1968.

Joanne started teaching the year before she graduated and went on to spend 41 years teaching. She taught business education at Woodrow Wilson High School in 1957, and was faculty advisor to the Majorettes, Yearbook Committees, Senior Class Advisor, Faculty Fund Representative and Assistant for the Girls' Athletics Department and taught drivers education. In 1969, she left to serve on the planning committee of the newly formed Middlesex Community College under first president Phillip G. Wheaton. She was Professor in the Secretarial Science department with a specialty in the Legal Secretarial Field, served as head of the department periodically for many years retiring in 1998 and becoming Professor Emerita.

Joanne had a strong commitment to the community and the world. She was a Girl Scout Camp Director, joined Soroptimist International where she held many leadership positions in the Connecticut River Valley Club, the Northeastern Region and the Soroptimist International Board of America. From 1976-1978, she was the Northeastern Region Governor. She will be remembered for encouraging singing at the various National and International Conferences, since she believed singing fostered unity and harmony.

Joanne was a life-long member of the First United Methodist Church and a member of the South Congregational Church Choir and the Greater Middletown Chorale, all of Middletown in the 1970's and 1980's.

Joanne is survived by her brother, Robert William Blake, Sr. and his wife, Thelma of Middletown; nephew, Robert William Blake, Jr. and his wife, Eleanor of Milford, MA; niece, Elizabeth Blake and her husband, Benjamin Lingard of San Carlos, CA; a grand nephew, Charles Blake Lingard of San Carlos, CA and several cousins in Maine, Massachusetts, New York and the Czech Republic.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 21st at 3:00 pm at South Congregational Church, 9 Pleasant Street, Middletown. Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joanne's memory may be made to Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road, Newington, CT 06066, First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 65, Middletown, CT 06457 or Soroptimist International, Connecticut River Valley Club, 1702 Country Club Road, Middletown, CT 06457.

For online condolences, visit Doolittle Funeral Service here.

From Doolittle Funeral Service