Sharon Blankenship

1937 - 2022

By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

PETERSBURG, Mich. - Sharon Blankenship, a former Bedford elementary-school teacher who was skilled at putting students, parents, and teachers at ease as a school psychologist at Whitmer High School, died Jan. 18 at Henry Ford Allegiance Hospice Home, Jackson, Mich. She was 84.

She'd had at least two strokes, said her daughter, Daneen Cole.

Mrs. Blankenship retired in the early 2000s from Whitmer, but worked part time for several years more as a psychologist at another area school district, her son Dan Blankenship said.

"She was a delight," said Mary Jo Bailin, a retired Whitmer special education department head. "She was crazy and fun and excellent at her job. She put the kids at ease and was a super school psychologist and was great with the staff - everything you'd want her to be."

Mrs. Blankenship evaluated and tested students and determined whether they could benefit from additional services.

"She felt very strongly about helping kids and keeping kids safe," her son said. "Especially with kids, she could bring out their strengths and could meet kids at their level, wherever that happened to be.

"There was a diverse population of kids she worked with, all economic backgrounds, all ethnicities, and she could connect with them in a personal and professional way," her son said.

Mrs. Bailin recalled: "She would be able to get the students at ease. She would listen to the teachers. She was great with the parents, even with the most confrontive parents. That's a good quality, and it's hard if your student is having difficulties."

Mrs. Blankenship told The Blade in 1999 that while teens may have bodies that look like adults', they still need love and guidance. Parents should pick their battles, she advised.

"If you're tired and you start making an issue of it, it'll be the thing that drives you apart," Mrs. Blankenship said then.

She suggested using humor, asking teenagers about their day or clothes or television programs, telling them of silly things you did as a kid.

"It's like trying to corner a cloud," she said in 1999. "Kids are always telling me stuff. I'm not special, but I'm here."

Her daughter said: "There's something to love about every kid, and she was good at finding that."

Mrs. Blankenship, a graduate of Western Michigan University, started teaching elementary students in Kalamazoo. After the family moved, she taught at Jackman Road and Douglas Road elementary schools in the Bedford district. She became reading specialist at Douglas Road school.

She received a master's degree in school psychology from the University of Toledo.

In retirement, she volunteered as an advocate for abused and neglected children through the Court Appointed Special Advocate program in Monroe County.

Mrs. Blankenship was a longtime volunteer at Humane Ohio in Toledo, which featured her in the volunteer spotlight of its June, 2016 newsletter.

"She can be found in the clinic scrubbing instruments and doing laundry two days each week without fail," that story said. "On top of that, she helps run our information table at several outreach events each year. You may remember her as your favorite elf during Santa Photos!"

When the family lived in Bedford Township, she and her husband kept horses, including standardbreds that were raced at Toledo Raceway Park and on the county fair circuit in Ohio.

"Ever since I was a little kid, the house was full of animals," her son said.

Until recently, she helped with dog-rescue groups aiding Weimaraners. She offered foster care at her home, sometimes for several dogs at a time.

"Sometimes they found their forever home with her," her daughter said.

She was born Nov. 20, 1937, in Craig, Mo., to Marie and Pressley S. "Bud" Dougherty. who moved their family to Battle Creek, Mich., where she graduated Battle Creek Central High School.

"She was joyful and energetic," her daughter said. "Everybody talks about her silliness. She always had a joke and a quirky comment."

Surviving are her husband, Gary Blankenship, whom she married in 1957; sons, Dan and Dennis Blankenship; daughter, Daneen Cole; six grandchildren, and a great-grandson.

Private family services will be held later.

The family suggests tributes to the Humane Society of Monroe County or to Humane Ohio.