Lennes Van Slyke Blakely

Blanche Lennes Van Slyke Blakely was named after her mother and was the fourth of five children born to Paul and Blanche Van Slyke. Because mom and her mother shared the same first name, ""Lennes"" was soon adopted as her given name. Mom's birth occurred in Albert Lea, Minnesota before the depression era began. At that time, Albert Lea was just a small agricultural community of about 8,500 people and was the only town within 50 miles of Bricelyn (which had a population of less than 50) that had a hospital. Mom's birth was just a few weeks after John Scopes was found guilty of teaching Darwinism in the famous Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee. Mom shares her birthday with the famed French composer and conductor Antoine Duhamel.

Mom's early youth was spent in the in the Brycelyn community, which was a railroad town established just before the turn of the last century. Now Brycelyn was basically a whistle stop town, and even today boasts a population of only 365 people. In the early years of the depression, commerce in Brycelyn became virtually non-existent, so mom's father, mother, and four sisters packed themselves and all of their belongings into an automobile and moved 1,300 miles southeast to Kinston, NC. The trip took ten days.

It was in Kinston that mom started her elementary education. It was also during this period that her youngest sister was born - seven years to the day after mom was born. So, mom and her youngest sister shared the same birthday, albeit seven years apart.

About a year after mom's youngest sister was born, the family purchased a farm in Wilson, NC, and this is where mom spent her formative years, working hard on the farm. Mom was a precocious child and learned quickly. As she grew, she was very involved in school activities. During her tenure at Charles L Coon High School she was quite athletic and played on both the women's basketball and tennis teams. Mom was also in The Physical Education Club, Basketball Club, and Science Club. Mom proudly served in the Victory Corps and was a Business Staff writer for the Radiogram (which was the school newspaper). Mom was very well known in her school and throughout her community as an excellent swing and jitterbug dancer.
After her high school graduation, mom worked on the family farm again that summer and then travelled to Philadelphia by train to enroll in the new Dental Hygienist's program at the University of Pennsylvania. While attending the University of Pennsylvania, mom's extracurricular activities focused on dancing and culminated with her winning first place in the state of Pennsylvania for the jitterbug.

Following her graduation for the University of Pennsylvania mom returned to North Carolina, passed the North Carolina state board exam, and became the first dental hygienist in North Carolina. Because this was a relatively new field at the time, demand for dental hygienists was in its infancy. Still, mom soon found a position working for an orthodontist in Asheville, NC. Coincidentally, she also served as the orthodontist's secretary and managed the office.
While living in Asheville, mom married and then moved to Winston-Salem several years later where she continued her career as a dental hygienist for the next 35 years. It was at this point that mom made a complete career change and became a church secretary, leveraging the office management skills she had used so many years prior. Mom continued her work as a church secretary for the next 16 years and eventually retired at age 71.

Never one to be idle, mom loved to bake and spent may happy hours following her retirement making some of the best pastries seen anywhere. Among other things, mom made the most visually appealing and best tasting lemon meringue pie anyone has ever eaten.
Mom was a quiet person with a generous spirit that was deeply loved and appreciated by those that knew her well. Above all else, mom loved the Lord and trusted Christ as her Savior. When the time finally came to release her spirit, she did so willingly.

Those that remain here for a brief time to come still love her dearly, but also know that there will come a time when we will be joined together again at the feet of Jesus for eternity.

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