BLAKESLEE, Mary Elizabeth

Mary Elizabeth Blakeslee, 90, known as "Aunt Mary", "Aunt Mom" and "A. M." to her family, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on May 4, 2003 after a short battle with cancer. She was born at Red Lake, Minnesota Febuary 28, 1913. She was a member of the Winnebago Indian Tribe and was proud of her heritage. Mary grew up in Thurston, Nebraska, attending grade school and high school there. She graduated from Haskell institute in Lawrence; Kansas in June 1935, and began her career working for the Public Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs, which took her to Washington, D. C., Chicago, Illinois, Wagner, South Dakota and Sacaton, Arizona. She retired July 1, 1976 at Sacaton and moved to Phoenix to be near family. Mary loved her family dearly and was always there for them. She loved life and embraced it fully. She made many lifelong friends. Mary loved to travel, especially her trips to Australia, New Zealand, China and Okinawa, and many places in the United States. She had a wonderful sense of humor and will be fondly remembered and missed by all who knew her. Mary is survived by her brother George H. Blakeslee, namesake niece Mary Elizabeth Freeman, nephews George Burdeau, and Jeff Blakeslee, nieces Pat Broadus and Kim Zeits, 4 great nephews and 2 great great nieces. Memorial service will be held Thursday, May 8 at 2:30 P. M. at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 4102 W. Union Hills Drive in Phoenix, Arizona. Published in the Arizona Republic on 5/7/2003.