NORTH NORWICH – Betty June (BJ) Blinebry, 77, a life long resident of North Norwich, passed away Wednesday morning, March 24, 2010 in the Community Memorial Hospital of Hamilton.
Betty was born in Norwich in June of 1932, the daughter of Glenn and Mary Cook Willcox. She attended the North Norwich and Norwich schools and was a 1950 graduate of the Norwich High School. Soon after her graduation, she gained employment with the Zero Locker in Norwich and subsequently went to work for the Norwich Shoe Co., where she worked for a period of 23 years until their closing. Betty then worked for Procter & Gamble in the cafeteria until her retirement. On April 24, 1952 in North Norwich, she married Howard L. Blinebry, who passed away Nov. 15, 1992.
Betty loved to have fun and truly enjoyed people. She liked to entertain at her home in North Norwich, where she would have gatherings under her carport during the summer months. Her favorite holiday was Christmas and she would host many holiday parties with family and friends. An avid shuffleboard player, she had played in many of the Moose Club’s tournaments over the years. She also played on the American Legion Post #189 league with both the in-house and travel leagues. Betty collected frogs and always enjoyed her flowers.
Above all else, Betty’s family, especially her grandchildren, meant the world to her.
Betty is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Debra and Glen Bagnall of Sherburne; her son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Patricia Blinebry of Waterville; her sister, Dorothy Doing of Norwich; and her grandchildren Michael, Thomas and Daniel Bagnall and Alec Blinebry. Also surviving are her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Willard and Marian Blinebry and Edward and Dorothy Smith, all of North Norwich, along with nieces, nephews and cousins.
Funeral services for Betty will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday from the R.J. Fahy Funeral Home. Interment will be in the North Norwich Cemetery. Friends may call at the R.J. Fahy Funeral Home on Wednesday from 11 a.m. until the time of the service at 1 p.m.
Please consider memorial contributions to the North Norwich United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 183, North Norwich 13814 or to the ALS Association, Upstate New York Chapter, 890 Seventh North Street, Suite 108, Liverpool, NY 13088.