Meredith-----Jacqueline E. Blais, 81, passed away at Forestview Manor in Meredith, N.H. on Friday, September 9, 2011.
Jackie was born April 5, 1930 in Laconia, the daughter of Cleophas and Rose (Truchon) Blais. She attended St. John’s School before her family moved to Portsmouth, N.H. where she graduated from Portsmouth High in 1948.
At 20, she helped a married girlfriend move to Ohio and while there decided she liked the area and finally settled in Springfield, Ohio where she lived for over fifty-five years. She began working for Mercy Hospital as a medical secretary and then worked for Dr. Morris Martin of Springfield, Ohio for over twenty years as his office manager. When he retired, she worked for Drs. Belisle and Groves Medical Group for ten years in Urbana, Ohio. She later worked for Mercy Memorial Urbana Hospital and retired as a billing manager.
She was a communicant of Saint Teresa Church in Springfield, Ohio. She enjoyed gardening, baking, sewing, knitting and ceramics. She belonged to bowling leagues and loved to travel. She was a member of the Chi Pau Upsilon Sorority, which did a lot of fund raising for pediatrics. She was a longtime member of the Medical Assistant Association, spending many hours in their fundraising events. Through Mercy Hospital, she became an avid blood donor receiving numerous recognitions pins and was proud of her accomplishments.
After she retired at sixty-five, Jackie volunteered five days a week for ten years at the Mercy Parent-Infant Center. She then decided it was time to come home to Laconia to live with her brother-in-law, Walter P. Markot, for the summers and was a communicant of St. Joseph Church. She lived in the winters with her niece, Janet (Markot) Guyer, and husband, Pierce Guyer, in Mount Pleasant, S. C.
Jackie is survived by her brother-in-law, Walter P. Markot, of Laconia and his family, her aunt, Isabelle Jacques, of Laconia and many nieces, nephews, great nieces , great nephews and great great nieces and nephews and four godchildren.
Jackie was predeceased by her parents and her nine siblings; six brothers, Romeo, Rodolph, Albert, Fernard, Ronald and Eugene and three sisters, Ernestine Paul, Lucille D. Markot and Theresa Smith.
There will be no calling hours.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Andre Bessette Parish, St. Joseph Church, 30 Church Street, Laconia on Saturday, September 24, 2011 at 10AM.
Burial will follow in the Markot plot at Bayside Cemetery, Union Avenue, Laconia.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Central N.H. VNA and Hospice, 780 North Main Street, Laconia, N. H. 03246.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family. For more information and to view an online memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.