Joanna Blalock believed life was meant to be fun. That sentiment is what propelled her through more than a century of life experiences, her family said.
To be clear, she didn’t believe in doing whatever she wanted to do, said her grandson, Park Ellis Jr., of Smyrna. But she did look for good times in everyday activities.
“She was a great appreciator of people and life,” he said. “And if you are appreciating what is in front of you, you are likely enjoying yourself.”
Joanna Balfe Blalock died Dec. 22 in her sleep at her St. Anne's Terrace residence. She was 103. Mrs. Blalock donated her body to Emory University Hospital and the family held a memorial service Wednesday at St. Anne's Episcopal Church.
Mrs. Blalock lived at St. Anne’s for 11 years and for a long time was part of the church’s famous kitchen committee, said her daughter Merrill Blalock Ellis, of Vinings.
“I urged her to retire when she was 100,” Mrs. Ellis said.
To mark her retirement, Mrs. Blalock penned a note of resignation, which was framed along with a picture of her, and placed in the kitchen. It was a proud moment, Mrs. Ellis said.
Mrs. Blalock was born in Jacksonville. In 1933 she married Thomas Lewis Blalock, who was in insurance. In addition to raising their children and running the house, Mrs. Blalock worked for her husband, helping out with clerical duties. The couple lived in Waycross, Atlanta and Tuscaloosa before coming back to Atlanta in 1990. They were married for 67 years before Mr. Blalock died in 1999.
Mrs. Blalock has always had a house full of laughter and food, her daughter said. Guests were always welcome, the food was plentiful and in the summer months the swimming pool was always full.
“I could bring a friend over, and somehow she’d just know we were coming and there’d be plenty of food,” Mrs. Ellis said. “If my daughter did that, just brought a friend over, they’d be disappointed.”
A party, or a good bridge game, could break out at any moment at the Blalock house, and Mrs. Blalock took that spirit with her to St. Anne’s, her daughter said.
“We think bridge helped keep her mind as sharp as it was,” her daughter said. “Her last game was a week before she died, and I asked her friends could she really do it, and they said she did well.”
And if there was a party at St. Anne’s Mrs. Blalock was there, which included the community Christmas party, just days before her death, her daughter said. Though she’d fallen and broken her hip in the Spring, and even had hip replacement surgery, she had her son wheel her to the soiree two weeks ago.
“She didn’t like to miss parties,” her daughter said. “And she and her little gang, there were about six of them, they were called the Party Girls. I wasn’t so sure it was complimentary, but she thought it was. She loved being a Party Girl.”
Mrs. Blalock is also survived by her son, Thomas Lewis Blalock, Jr. of Atlanta; three grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
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