Obit: Blanke, Martha Z. (1911 - 2008)
Contact:
Email: dzwakman@msn.com

Surnames: Blanke, Dix, Beran, Herout, Binder, Holland, Bastian

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Wood Co., Wis.) 17 Apr. 2008

Blanke, Martha Z. (1 Aug. 1911 - 14 Apr. 2008)

ATHENS -- Martha Z. Blanke, 96, formerly of Athens, died Monday, April 14, 2008, under the care of Ministry Home Care Hospice at Bethel Center, Arpin.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Christ United Church, Athens. The Rev. Kenneth A. Dix will officiate. Burial will be in the Athens Village Cemetery.

Friends may call from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Peterson/Kraemer Funeral Home, Athens, and again from 10 a.m. until service time Saturday at the church.

She was born Aug. 1, 1911, on a farm in the town of Johnson, the fifth child of the late Frank Beran and Anna Herout. On May 8, 1943, she married Fred Blanke at Christ United Church, Colby. He preceded her in death Feb. 7, 1976.

Martha worked at the National Shoe Factory in Wausau and also in Manitowoc at a tinsel factory for many years. Along with her husband, Fred, they owned and operated a dairy farm in the town of Bern until her retirement.

She was an active member of the Women's Club and also the Women's Guild at the Christ United Church, both of Athens. Some of Martha's favorite pastimes included bird watching, reading, fishing, gardening, baking, sewing and crocheting. Martha took great pride in being a grandmother and great-grandmother and will be fondly remembered for the doilies she created for all her grandkids and the special others who received them.

Living family members include her three daughters, Barbara (Donald) Binder, Marshfield, Jean Holland, Plover, and Janice (John Bastian) Blanke, Weir, Quebec, Canada; six granddaughters, four grandsons, 12 great-grandchildren and nine nieces and nephews.

Besides her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by one grandson, Keith Binder; one brother; four sisters; and one niece.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Martha's name.