Alice Drum Blair
1925 ~ 2019
Alice Drum Blair, 93, died February 19, 2019 in St. George, Utah of natural causes.
She is survived by her husband, Bob Blair, 96, of St. George, Utah; her 13 children and their spouses/significant others: Mack and Rosemary Blair, Milly Boren, Hilary and Ben Nitka, Marilou Blair, Clarke and Elissa Blair, Bill Blair and Shirley Hawley, Scott and Victoria Blair, Betsy Blair and Leland Beatty, Maddy and Rick Chadwell, Kitty and Tony Klekas, Ginger and Fred Anderson, Alex Zander, and Francie and Mike Peters, 27 grandchildren, their spouses and seven great-grandchildren.
Born in Miles City, Montana on April 20, 1925, Alice grew up during the Great Depression. While her family struggled financially, she remembered a happy childhood, especially summers with her cousins in Rushville, Indiana. Her lifelong values were shaped by her small town upbringing. She was independent and self-reliant, but always offered a hand to someone who was struggling. She could strike up a conversation with anyone, and usually did. Her positive outlook on life was infectious.
In 1946, she married her college sweetheart, Bob Blair. It was the beginning of a 72-year partnership that lasted until her death. She told her children: "Dad and I kept our sense of humor and our romance alive by laughing a lot and going out on a date once a week."
After graduating from the University of Montana in Missoula, where she was a proud member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, Alice moved with Bob to Salt Lake City.
For the next four decades, they raised their large family on Bob's salary as a reporter and editor for the Salt Lake Tribune.
Alice often said "the one thing you can't take away from someone is a happy childhood." Even though money was tight, she created countless happy memories for her children. Here are just a few: gracious Sunday night dinners in a separate dining room with candlelight and linen napkins; picnics in City Creek Canyon on hot summer days; reading "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" and other funny stories every night before bedtime.
Alice converted to Catholicism shortly after moving to Salt Lake in the late 1940s. In the last years of her life, she became a Presbyterian and was welcomed into the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in St. George.
"What have I learned along the way? The power of God's love to help you through tough times! I had my Catholic faith, mass every morning, confession every week. When I aired my gripes to Father Meersman, he would say: Hang in there, kid, some day your kids will send you money and take care of you when you're old!"
As her kids got older, Alice had a successful career selling real estate in Salt Lake. But raising a large family was her proudest achievement. She often introduced herself as "the mother of 13 kids and none of them are in jail."
After moving to St. George in 1984, Alice spent much of her time attending to the children in her life. She cherished each grandchild and compiled a personal "Me book" for each of her children and grandchildren to preserve memories of their childhood. She served as a volunteer in local elementary schools, where she was beloved. She paid special attention to her Navajo children and their families. A daily swim and a walk while saying the rosary kept her going most of her life, even though she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was often in pain.
Alice truly was a "wonderful woman" who brought magic into the world. She will live on in the hearts of many who loved her.
All are welcome to celebrate the life of Alice Blair in a memorial service at 2 PM at the Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in St. George, Utah on Saturday, March 2, 2019.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Washington County School District Foundation in Alice Blair's name: https://www.washk12.org/foundation/donate.