Phyllis Belle Blemly

Phyllis Belle Blemly was born to Richard and Florence Weeks on September 17, 1925 in Jamestown, NY, and grew up in the Chautauqua, NY area. Phyllis graduated from Brockton Central (High) School, in Brockton NY and attended every reunion she could. She attended and graduated from the E. J. Meyer Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Buffalo, NY where she earned her R.N in 1947. There she met Dr. Nelson R. Blemly of Wolcott, NY. They were married on March 25, 1948. Nelson’s military medical training and career took them to Washington, DC, Honolulu, HI, Valley Forge, PA, Chapel Hill, NC and back to the Washington, DC area in 1962, where they eventually settled in Potomac, MD. Their family grew with the births of their children: Michael, born in Buffalo, Craig and Yvonne in Washington, DC and Christian in Honolulu. Nelson died suddenly on October 14, 1987. They were married 39 years, and she deeply mourned her loss. She moved to Queenstown, MD in 1997 and truly loved being on the Eastern Shore. As a homemaker and mother, Phyllis was an energetic volunteer serving the Salvation Army, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and other charities. She had a passion for politics and actively got involved in “get out the vote” campaigns. She was elected to the Montgomery County Central Committee in the mid-1970’s, and was also honored to serve many times as an election judge for Montgomery County. Phyllis kept a close watch on her teenage children serving as an active member of the Robert E. Peary High School PTA. Quality education was a key priority for her. She instilled in her children an appreciation of the arts, history, and social consciousness. She ensured that her children had many diverse life experiences. She fostered culture with frequent trips to museums and symphony concerts, and encouraged adventure whether by island hopping in the Florida Keys or a summer-long 30 state cross-country camping excursion. Perhaps her greatest passion was as a gourmet cook and Phyllis used her culinary skills extensively as she and Nelson often entertained at their home. She served exotic foods decades before mainstream America ever heard of them. Long before FedEx, Phyllis would have tropical flowers shipped in from Hawaii for their parties. It was always a “class act.” She was a founding member of two Potomac gourmet clubs, was a member of the Kent Island Yacht Club and a Board member of Piney Narrows Yacht Haven. Phyllis and Nelson frequently traveled to Radiology Conventions in Chicago and to her favorite city, San Francisco. In their later years together, Phyllis and Nelson traveled to Paris, London, Austria and Germany, Tahiti and back to Hawaii. After Nelson died, Phyllis took a tour of Egypt, but we wonder if her favorite excursions might have been her trips to Disney World and Disneyland. In addition to her four children, Phyllis is survived by six grandchildren, Justin and Connor Blemly, Sean, Kevin and Brian Crumlish, and Marianne Blemly. Phyllis Belle Blemly passed away at her home in Queenstown, MD on May 8, 2003 with her children at her side. Friends will be received on Sunday, June 1, 2003 at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, Chester, MD from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm. Funeral services will be held at Fort Myer Chapel on Monday, June 2, 2003 at 9:00 am. Internment will follow at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA. Memorial donations may be made to the Hospice of Queen Anne, Inc., 300 Del Rhodes Avenue, Queenstown, MD 21658 or to the National Capital Salvation Army, P.O. Box 18658, Washington, DC 20036.