Vera L. Blonigan

Vera L. Blonigan, 97, passed away on March 13, 2014 at The Heritage of Battle Creek.
Vera was born October 12, 1916 in Bedford, Michigan, to Myron and Ada (Rice) Robinson. She spent her childhood in Bedford with her sister and eight brothers, and graduated from Battle Creek Central High School in 1935. In the 1930s and 1940s, Vera worked for Percy Jones Army Hospital, the Battle Creek Sanitarium, and Wolverine Insurance. A highlight of her career with the Sanitarium was taking dictation from author Dorothy Draper, design director of Good Housekeeping magazine, for a book she was writing in the late 1930s. Later, Vera entered federal civil service working for several U.S. Government agencies including Civil Defense, the Defense Logistics Services Center (DLSC) and the Defense Property Disposal Service (DPDS). In 1974 after 28 years of service, she retired from DPDS where she had written sales descriptions of military property no longer used.
In August 1947, Vera married Glenn A. Blonigan. Glenn preceded her in death June 13, 1987, as did daughter, Patricia Ann, in March 1949. She was also preceded by her sister, Harriet (Robinson) Williams, and her eight brothers, Verlie, Dorr, Hubert, Frank, Rex, Dayle, Gayle, and Harold Robinson. She is survived by her daughter, Linda (Blonigan) Calvo, of Battle Creek, and several nieces and nephews.
Vera and Glenn enjoyed volunteer work with the National Association of Retired Federal Employees and trips to Waterloo, Iowa and Englewood, Florida. Vera was an avid reader, loved her miniature schnauzer Max, and also enjoyed making stained glass items, collecting dolls and frequent shopping trips with Linda.
A memorial service will be held at the 1:00 pm, Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at Memorial Park Cemetery Chapel, In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations to the Wounded Warrior Project or the Calhoun County Humane Society. Arrangements are being handled by Farley, Estes & Dowdle Funeral Home.