Cora Ellen Blackman

CORA ELLEN BLACKMAN

Mount Pleasant

Cora Ellen Blackman of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, formerly of the West Point and Fort Madison communities, entered her eternal home on Feb. 7, 2020. She was 96 years old and living at Sunnybrook Assisted Living at the time of her death.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11, at First Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant, with the Rev. Trey Hegar officiating. Visitation, with family present, will be held for one hour prior to the service, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Burial will be at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Morton, Ill. Gifts of love and friendship may be given to First Presbyterian Church in Mount Pleasant.

Olson-Powell Memorial Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be directed to www.olsonpowell.com.

Cora was born Feb. 27, 1923, on a farm in Wayne County, Ohio, to J.B. and Flossie Ann (Ault) Hathaway where she was the fourth child out of nine. She married Billy J Blackman on Dec. 12, 1942, while he was on leave from the Armed Forces before being shipped overseas to England during World War II. Cora worked as a bookkeeper in Bowling Green, Ohio, while he was away serving in the U.S. Army.

When the war was over they started their family of four, William "Bill" (Cheryl, deceased) Blackman of Groveland, Ill., Barbara Zierlien (deceased), Cathleen Witte (Gary) of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and Thomas Blackman (Gail) of St. Charles, Mo. Cora worked as a housewife supporting her husband's career with the Eastman Kodak Co. and raising her family. Together, they lived in Rochester, N.Y., Park Forest, Ill., Morton, Ill., and Dayton, Ohio.

After the death of her beloved husband of 40 years, she retired to manage an acreage in West Point, Iowa, where she lived for the last 30 years of her life. During these years, she formed a 23 friendship with Eldon Buskirk who preceded her in death. She was an avid knitter, loved to sing with the Pen City Singers, enjoyed playing Bridge and Euchre, and loved spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Cora is survived by three of her children, 10 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Along with her husband and parents, Cora was preceded in death by her daughter, a daughter-in-law, three sisters and five brothers.