Mary E. Blen
WEST GARDINER – Mary E. Blen, 94, died peacefully on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, with her loving family by her side.
Mary was born in New York City on March 15, 1930, the daughter of the late George A. and Mary E. (McDermott) Lavallee. She attended local schools, graduating from Bridge Academy and then attending Drakes Business School in New York.
On Jan. 29, 1949, Mary married her high school sweetheart Harold Blen, and together they shared 70 years of marriage.
Mary worked at the Dresden Post Office, in the shoe shops of Hallowell, Richmond and Gardiner, and then for many years as a private housecleaner.
She was a member of the Dresden Fire Auxiliary and PTA in the fifties, taught 4H Club in Dresden, and a member of the Extension Club, past Matron of the Olive Branch OES of Dresden, member of the Mystic Chapter 69 OES of Litchfield, American Legion Auxiliary of Litchfield, the Senior Citizens Club, and the Maine Obsolete Auto Club. She was a member of the Litchfield Baptist Church.
During the winter months, Mary and Harold were residents of Zephyrhills, Fla. for more than 20 years. She enjoyed boat rides on Tacoma Lake, snowmobiling, swimming, camping and dancing. She made quilts for everyone in the family. In recent years she played the wooden spoons and sang in the choir, Carol Bailey String Band, West Gardiner Dinner Program and she knit hundreds of mittens for schools and Togus.
Mary was predeceased by her husband, Harold Blen; brother-in-law, Wentworth Goodwin. She is survived by two daughters, Teresa Parker and her husband Dave, Ellen Marston and her husband James; three sisters, Kathleen Goodwin of Hallowell, Margaret Williams of Florida, and Patrica Christopolus of South Carolina; three grandchildren, Adam Marston, Kevin Marston and wife Deana, Stacey Bender and husband Gerry; four great grandchildren, Amanda Marston and Alex, Kaylee Marston and Josh, Desiree Marston and Tommy, Aly Marston and AJ; four great great grandchildren, Grace Marston, Kameron and Kolton Hickey, and Matthew Mansir.
A graveside service will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025, at 1 p.m. at the Litchfield Plains Cemetery, Litchfield, ME. Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner, ME.
Condolences, memories and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website http://www.StaplesFuneralHome.com
Those who wish may
make contributions in Mary’s memory to :
the Meals on Wheels or:
the Litchfield Food Bank
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