Blenko The People - Jeanne Margaret Deakin Blenko

Todays Post is Written by:

Richard Deakin Blenko - CEO of BLENKO GLASS
4th Generation Blenko
Blenko Glass Milton, W.Va.

Jeanne Margaret Deakin, wife of William Blenko Jr and mother of Richard Deakin Blenko, was born in May 1921, one of five children in Oadby England. Her parents were Cyril Reginald Deakin and Lilian Staines. She joined the RAF royal air force during WWII and met William Blenko when he served in the Army Air Force overseas. . They were married in 1946; their first son was William Blenko III, who died several years ago and Richard in 1953. The young Bill and Jeanne lived in Milton with William and Marion Blenko Sr a year before having their own home. Jeanne waited until both boys were old enough and then went back to college graduating with honors from Marshall University, eventually earning several additional degrees. She was 5' tall and had blue eyes and brown hair; when driving her Lincoln Continental, you could hardly see her over the wheel. While small in stature, she was known as a humanitarian . Jeanne Blenko was
talented in interior design and a natural artist, and was a tireless entertainer and promoter for Blenko Glass. She hosted for over 20 years the annual sales dinners at the Blenko residence and was the ultimate social host for all visiting dignitaries associated with the Blenko business. She was a master seamstress and could make anything. When the Visitor Center was being built in 1966, she chose all the furniture used in the building as well as office decor in the office. Making and maintaining professional associations is very important to any successful operation and Jeanne Blenko was a consummate host as well as having long and intimate friendships with all customers and sales force. When you worked for and with Blenko, it was not a job but a life long friendship with the Blenko family, Jeanne was the best. A loving mother, champion of the poor and bringing a clear vision of personal relationships with the Blenko operation. Coming from a European culture and from a nearby large city in England, she would often joke, that my great grandfather could have opened a business in Washington Pa, a metropolitan area or the rural country of Milton, she said "She would kill him if she had the chance!" (he died in 1933)In spite of this foreign WV culture, she loved the people the area and was proud of Blenko's long history and there was a great friendship with William Blenko Sr. My mother was a remarkable woman and few like her come along in life. I am privileged to have been her son and to have given me an English heritage She died after a short illness in 1984 at age 62. “A Mother holds her children's hands for a while...their hearts forever”
Richard Blenko