Lucinda Michel Blakely

Lucinda Michel Blakely died in Houston on Friday evening, the 13th of April 2012, at the age of 68. She was born on the 7th of March 1944 in Bronxville, NY to Lucille Greene Michel and John Field Michel. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sweetbriar College and a Master of Science from the Boston University School of Public Communications. On the 6th of September 1969, she married Robert Blakely, her husband of 42 years.
Cindi, as she was known by all, was a person who, through her volunteerism, contributed significantly to every community in which she and Bob lived. As a young married woman living in Brooklyn Heights, NY, she was active in the Junior League and at the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School. She moved to Houston with her family in 1981 and immediately put down roots. Despite several later moves, she and Bob always returned to Houston, the place they considered their true home.
In Houston, the list of her charitable accomplishments is long and varied. For many years, she was a board member of the Houston Ballet Foundation and was also active in its Guild, chairing both the Ballet Ball in 1988 and the Nutcracker Market in 1993. More recently, she co-chaired the first gala held by the Katy Prairie Conservancy. She was presented by the Houston Post as a "Woman of Distinction" in 1993.
Focused on education, Cindi was a longtime board member and active fundraiser for Communities in Schools, as well as a trustee of the Chinquapin Preparatory School in Wallisville, TX. During the years she lived in Washington, DC, she devoted countless hours to DC Preparatory Academy, a charter school for inner city children, where she helped to develop a pioneering library and literacy program and often remarked how much she loved working there. In Houston, while her children were attending school, she participated actively in the St. John's and Episcopal High School parents' guilds.
Cindi adored flowers and gardening. A member of the Garden Club of Houston and of the Green Fingers Garden Club of Greenwich, CT, she was a talented flower arranger who showered her friends with lovely creations and could come up with highly imaginative floral schemes. When she was a relative newcomer to Greenwich, she chaired "Antiquarius," a weeklong antique show and house tour sponsored by the town's historical society. In Washington, she served as a trustee of the National Fund for the United States Botanical Garden, co-chairing the opening of the First Ladies Water Garden on the grounds of the Capitol. In recent years, she lavished attention on creating beautiful gardens around in her summer home in Matunick Hills, RI on Block Island Sound. Despite a packed schedule, she was never too busy to help her less-talented friends with their special floral events and gave invaluable advice.
Creative and with innate artistic flair, she made each of the houses that she and Bob lived in both beautiful and welcoming. A new member of the Sulgrave Club in Washington, DC, she was placed on its House and Grounds Committee and was almost immediately put in charge of the club's holiday decorations. She was an avid and talented needle pointer as well and delighted in creating personalized gifts for her family and good friends. She particularly cherished her Washington "Stitch Group."
Photography was another of Cindi's passions. A talented amateur, she could frequently be seen at events, camera in hand, recording birthday and wedding parties, and she enjoyed her work on the Photography Committee at The Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Her gallery of photographs of children, grandchildren, and friends fill the rooms of her house and chronicle a rich and happy life.
She is survived by her husband, Robert Talbert Blakely; their two sons, Colin Greene Blakely and wife, Heather Behling Blakely, of Ann Arbor, MI, and Robert Ian Blakely and wife, Suzanne Perreault Blakely, of New York City; three grandchildren, her adored Emma, Madeline and Ethan Blakely of Ann Arbor. Her survivors also include her siblings Nancy Michel of Brookline, MA, Caroline Michel of Watertown, MA, John Michel and wife, Anne, of Belleair Beach, FL, and Edward Michel and wife, Sharon, of Clearwater, FL. She was preceded in death by her parents. The family gratefully thanks Maria Montalvo, their longtime housekeeper, for the loving care she took of Cindi throughout her illness and the six wonderful caregivers who have been with her in the final weeks of her life.
Cindi, who never liked to call attention to herself, was the hub for a wide circle of family and friends. They will miss her humor, her generosity of spirit, her love of beauty, and her zest for life.
Friends are cordially invited to gather at the family's home and share remembrances of Cindi during a reception from five o'clock in the afternoon until eight o'clock in the evening on Wednesday, the 18th of April.
The memorial service is to be conducted at three o'clock in the afternoon on Friday, the 20th of April, at Christ Church Cathedral, 1117 Texas Avenue in Houston, where the Very Rev. Joe D. Reynolds, Dean, is to officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception at a venue to be announced at the service.
Prior to Friday afternoon's service, the family will have gathered for a private interment at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the Chinquapin Preparatory School, Attn: Bridget Anderson, 2615 E. Wallisville Rd., Highlands, TX, 77562-3199; Houston Ballet, 601 Preston St., Houston, TX, 77002; Communities in Schools, 1235 North Loop West, Suite 300, Houston, TX, 77008; or to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Photography Department, P. O. Box 6826, Houston, TX, 77265-6826.