Virginia Blakemore

Virginia Blakemore, 103, passed away peacefully on December 5, 2020 at Parkway Health Center in Little Rock.  She was born December 21, 1916 in the country outside of Crossett, Arkansas to William Seneca Blakemore and Harriet Clements Blakemore. Crossett had an excellent school system, but the schools were private, and all the Blakemore girls had to work to pay their way through.  Virginia worked for the librarian and graduated as her high school class salutatorian.  Her love of reading continued throughout her life.  She endured the solitude of the current pandemic by reading: primarily history, biographies, short stories, and the Bible.

After high school graduation, she joined her parents who had moved to Little Rock; she worked at Woolworth’s earning 25 cents an hour for 10-hour workdays.  She learned shorthand and typing in part-time school, took the civil service exam, and was hired by the Army Corps of Engineers.  She was transferred to Houston with the Corps during WWII. After the war, when the President asked everyone who could to move out of military jobs into private industry, Virginia applied at Champion Paper pulp mill in Pasadena, TX. The interviewing boss was a stickler for spelling; Virginia got the job because she could spell a word the other applicant could not spell: “Baptist”!  She worked for the Champion Paper and Fiber Company for more than thirty years.  During that time, she studied and earned Certified Professional Secretary standing. She was an executive secretary in the company first in Houston, Texas, then secretary to the company president in New York City when the company moved its headquarters there, and finally returned to Houston while struggling with myasthenia gravis and caring for her mother (then in her late 90’s).

She loved theatre and the arts and shared that love with family and friends who visited her in Houston and Manhattan.

She had an adventurous spirit and loved to travel.  In her early twenties she went with her sister, Elinor, and two other friends on a road trip in a Model A Ford to Mexico City.  None of the group spoke Spanish, but they had a marvelous time.  Later in life she would visit family and friends abroad and across the U.S.A.—Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, the Bahamas, Israel/Palestine, California, Alaska, Oregon and Texas.

Upon retirement she returned Little Rock and did volunteer secretarial work with a children’s service organization, delivered Meals on Wheels, and tutored in an elementary school.  In her late 80’s and 90’s she worked crossword puzzles with her sister, played Scrabble, put up peas and peaches, tended her houseplants, often cared for her great-niece Kaitlyn when her parents were working, packed Christmas shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse, and prayed for family and friends.

As she grew older and life became more difficult, her caregivers joined her circle of friends and supporters, helping her retain dignity and some independence. Friends from the Baptist Foundation provided further support.  Virginia was loving, caring, and generous to those in need, but she was also intolerant of foolishness, and could be feisty when it was called for. Throughout her life she confronted both the bitter and the sweet; she faced struggle and she endured pain. She was a very special person who saw the special potential of others.

Throughout her life she was active in the church.  She was a Sunday School teacher at South Main Baptist church in Houston, an active force in the small Baptist mission church in Manhattan, and a supporter of missions throughout her life.  At the time of her death she was the oldest member of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock and a member of the Tele-Bible Class.

Her only brother, Billy, died during the flu pandemic of 1918.  Her sisters—Annie Mary, Kathryn, Grace, and Elinor—all preceded her in death. She is survived by three nephews, Steve Clark of Little Rock, Ron Clark of Frisco, Texas and Bill Mathis of Doylestown, Pennsylvania; a niece, Jeanne Clark of Salem, Oregon and a great niece, Faith Johnson of North Little Rock; as well as the much loved spouses, children and grandchildren of Ron, Bill, and Faith. A beloved aunt, at the center of family memories—particularly at Christmas (from making Christmas candies together, to packing a Starburst in the children’s gifts, to planning a treasure hunt for the gifts), she brought joy to many, and will be greatly missed.  Honored by her profession, cherished by her friends, and deeply loved by her family, she lived a long, fruitful life and is now at peace with her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, as she enjoys reunion with beloved family members who went before her.

A small private funeral will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 12, 2020 at Smith-North Little Rock Funeral Home. The service will be livestreamed (via Facebook Live) if friends wish to attend virtually.

Arrangements by Smith North Little Rock Funeral Home , 1921 Main St, North Little Rock, AR 72114, 501-758-1170.