Leading up to Valentine’s Day, we want to share one of our favorite love stories from our communities. Perhaps you’ll remember the Blankenship’s lovely viral video as they reunited after months apart.
Watch here: https://fb.watch/3yDqU_QXRm/
And now, the background for their love story as shared recently by their daughter, Terri, …
The Life & Times of Theron & Marcie Blankenship
Theron Blankenship and Marcella (Marcie) Warren met at the Knapp Monarch factory of St. Louis, MO in August of 1949. They had their first date on September 16. Theron took her bowling! Their dating life was very exciting: bowling, hockey games, movies, square dancing, and Cardinal baseball games. Their dates nearly always ended at the Steak & Shake nearest Marcie’s home.
On Sunday, March 12, 1950, Theron asked Marcie to become his wife. The wedding plans began! They were married on July 1. They continued to work together for another year or so, and then Marcie was laid off. So she stayed home and prepared the house because the babies started coming. Their daughter Therolyn (Terri) was born in April of 1953. A son Richard was came along in March of 1955, followed by a second son, Michael, in July of 1956.
In spring of 1958, Mid-Continent Spring Company, Theron’s employer, decided to move the company to Hopkinsville, KY. Only a few employees were invited to move to Kentucky to help set up the new factory and to continue to work for them. Theron was one of those few. He moved his young family to this small community in western Kentucky.
They had many happy moments in their full lives and after 48 years in that house Theron and Marcie were beginning to show signs of some health issues. So the family began talking about moving from that very first home. But because their daughter was spending almost as much time at their house as she was at home, the family made the decision to sell the old home and buy a new, larger house where the parents and the daughter could live together. They joked that this was their version of “assisted living.”
After they had lived together for about 12 years, Marcie began to show the early symptoms of dementia. As her mental condition worsened she became ill in April of 2020. After a short hospital stay, she was sent to Christian Health Care Center in Hopkinsville, KY for rehab. The family decided this would be a good time for her to transition to long term care. She was happy there, always upbeat and full of stories about her new friends.
Theron’s health started to deteriorate. Finally, in August of 2020, he had to go into the hospital. He left there to go into rehab at Christian Health, going in just in time for the Covid outbreak.
The plan had been to have these two share a room, but with the outbreak, that had to be put on hold, especially after they both tested positive for the virus. Each of them made a short trip to the hospital. Both came back better than when they went in, but still the wings were closed. But finally, things improved to the point that the wings could be opened up. Therolyn asked if her parents could possibly be moved to the same room, and Mrs. Holly Worley responded in less than an hour. Holly messaged, “What kind of flowers does your mom like?” The answer was roses. What color? Red. Holly shared, “We are moving them tomorrow morning at 10:30. We are ordering red roses for your dad to give to her. He already told me what to write on the card. And we will get pictures and video for you.”
Marcie’s mind was clear on the morning of October 27, 2020. She understood what was going on, that she would soon be reunited with her husband of 70 years. They had been separated for five and a half months, the longest separation of their marriage. They only had 33 days together. Marcie’s mental and physical health went downhill rather quickly. She passed away on November 28, five days after her 95 birthday. Theron misses her, but still enjoys his video chats with his family. Thank you Christian Care for taking such fine care of my parents and we are forever grateful!