Lt. Col. Lorraine Mae Blakely USAF

Lt. Col. Lorraine Mae Blakely, USAF (Ret.)
Lorraine Blakely of Georgetown, Texas went to her home in heaven on December 20, 2025. Born on May 31, 1928 to Gustav Morris Schon and Josephine Charlotte Schon, she passed away at the age of 97. Lorraine was born and grew up on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Carl Schurz High School, Wilbur Wright Junior College, Evanston Hospital School of Nursing and obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Northwestern University. After obtaining her Registered Nurse certification she traveled west and embarked on her nursing career. Having a great appreciation for the outdoors, she spent several years working at the medical facilities in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. During this time while living in the Sierra Mountains, Lorraine was able to become a devoted downhill skier and enjoyed skiing into her senior years in the mountains of the U.S. as well as Europe.
In 1955 Lorraine was commissioned an officer in the United States Air Force and entered military active duty. Her assignments in the military were varied. She had two aeromedical evacuation assignments and the first was as a Flight Nurse, accompanying plane loads of military patients from Germany to the continental U.S. During the Vietnam war she was deployed for a year as the Chief Flight Nurse of the 903rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron headquartered at Cam Rahn Bay AB, South Vietnam. The 903rd AMES was the only USAF squadron based in South Vietnam flying aeromedical evacuation missions in "fixed-wing" aircraft exclusively in South Vietnam. Lorraine flew 91 combat missions in C-130 aircraft during her year deployment. Her memories of that year remained vivid for the rest of her life. During her military career she also served at USAF medical facilities at Itazuke Air Base, Japan as well as USAF hospitals and medical centers in New Mexico, California, Mississippi, North Dakota, Texas, and her last military assignment was as Chief Nurse at Dover AFB Delaware where she retired after 22 years of active military service. Her medals and awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, the Air Force Longevity Award with four Oak Leaf Clusters, the National Defense Medal and the Expert Marksmanship Ribbon.
While she was in Vietnam she met her future husband, Major Robert A. Blakely who was the Operations Officer of the 903rd AMES. They married in 1972. After Bob retired in 1974, and Lorraine retired in 1977, they made Texas their home but continued traveling the globe and revisiting their favorite locations each year to downhill ski in the mountains of California and swim and snorkel in Hawaii. During their tours of duty, in South Vietnam, they were both exposed to Agent Orange but only Bob suffered the consequences of Parkinsons Disease which led to his death in 2013.
Lorraine was an avid reader. She also enjoyed sewing, knitting and quilting. For several years after retiring from the military she operated Designer Art Services, a small business involved in creating and producing calligraphic art.
She was preceded in death by Bob, her husband of 40 years; her parents; her sister, Jacqueline McCratic and husband Edward; nephew, William McCratic; and niece, Melody McCratic.
She is survived by her nieces and nephews: Jack (Debbie) McCratic, Sally-Jo (Don) Walker, Darlene (Alexander) Porteus, Pam (Dave) Van Heuklom, Tim (Lisa) McCratic, and Scott McCratic; stepdaughter, Brooke (Paul) Alberti; and stepsons: Scott (Yueli) Blakely, and Greg (Mary) Blakely.
A Memorial Service will be held in March 2026 in The Chapel of Ramsey Funeral Home. The date and time are currently pending.
Lt. Col. Blakely will be inurned next to her husband, Maj. Robert Blakely, at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, TX. The date and time are currently pending.
Please check back for service dates and times. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.