Antonie W. Blackler

Anthonie was my mother's cousin. I never met him but she always used to tell me how clever he was. It is many years since they had any contact, and I'm not even sure if she knew he was in the US. Reading his obituary, I see things that link to his wider family this side of the pond, not least tea and Branston pickle. RIP.

Only yesterday did I learn of Dr. Blackler's passing. He was, without a doubt, the best of many fine lecturers I had the privilege of learning from during my two years as an Ag Ec student in the mid 1970's. He never wasted time with administrative details in his lecture; he would walk to the podium and immediately start talking biology. I should add the course was the two semester bio for non-majors and enrolled about 400 students, mostly freshmen. He had some quaint expressions, the one I remember is "conference" in reference to the weekly small group lab session conducted by a TA.

I would occasionally run into Dr. Blackler, as I always addressed him, in the P&C on East Hill. The first few times I approached him, introduced myself, and thanked him for the fine course he taught. After a while he would recognize me by name and kept up with my life across decades of such encounters. Ithaca being a small town, there were other casual contacts we had; neighbor of a friend, father of friend of a friend's son, and so forth. But it was those chance encounters in the grocery store, DeWitt Mall, or wherever during which we always connected with a warmth that was exceptional given our brief and widely spaced meetings that meant the most to me.

Perhaps the best that can be said of anyone, and most certainly of Dr. Blackler, is that he was a very kind man.

To the grieving family of Dr Blackler... the world is definitely a better place because of Dr B... I will treasure the fact that I had the privilege of knowing him. I will cherish the lovely memories and email correspondence I have had with him. You will be deeply missed Dr B.

Dearest sweet Shelley, and all the Blackler’s, you so know my heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you all. You know my dad and mom adored Tonie, as did all the Wimsatt’s. My folks were such great friends with you all. He was like another father to me. Knowing him just made this world such a better place and I cherish the memories I’ve had through the years with him both during the time he came to Cornell and was with my parents, my family ... as well as the time since my parents have passed on. I treasure them all and I’m so delighted you attended our Wimsatt family reunion in 2018 priceless, just priceless, at our special place, Wimsatt’s cabin. I have a beautiful picture of Tonie paying respect to my parents grave at the cabin that fine reunion day. I also still have a label from their maple syrup adventures. a label from “Saps, Inc” ... that my folks gave me as part of my personal family album (each of us 6 kids received one) the Christmas of 1984 before my dad died on January 9, 1985. Tonie was truly delightful in every way, and every minute I spent with him warmed my heart, touched my soul and I always felt blessed. I cherished his presence as truly a gift from above, he was extraordinary human being both inside and out. I am truly blessed to have known him all these years, you and so many people through those amazing years growing up in Ithaca and at Cornell. Thank you one and all for that... love, hugs and prayers always sweet friends! Xo ❤

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to befriend such a brilliant, kind and truly remarkable person. I enjoyed listing to him share his many travels and all the different cultures he would describe with such flare. He brought me back a beautiful brass genie lamp from Qatar. I jokingly said, If I rub real hard and ask for a husband, do you think that would work?, Tonie laughed and said It just might!. Today I have been married over 11 years. Tonie was truly a unique individual and I will sure miss him.