Christmas 2017

    Merry Christmas from the Blaneys!

2017 was a year of highs and lows for our family.  After a long, deliberate process Blaney Funeral Home was sold to a non-Blaney.  My brother, Mike, my sister, Mary Jo, and I decided it was time and in June we retired.  We have great confidence in the new owners (a Green Bay Area family) and have just as much confidence in the entire staff which was retained.  It is difficult to step away from a 40 year career but I look forward to spending more time with family and friends.  

The summer began with lots of time at the cottage with golfing, biking and kayaking on the agenda.  In June, Cathy's father had a wonderful party celebrating his 90th birthday.  It was great for him to be able to visit with his siblings, nieces & nephews, neighbors and friends.  He truly enjoyed the party.  This time spent celebrating his life and those he loved was especially precious as he passed away later that summer after multiple bouts of pneumonia.  He was a wonderful man who loved his family and they loved him.  You can read Kathleen's eulogy just below this blog post.

In early fall, Cathy and I decided to take our camper out of mothballs (figuratively, not literally).  We started thinking small as to where we should go, but by our October 1^st departure date, we had decided to check off one of Cathy's bucket list items - going to Vermont to see the fall colors.  We also spent time in Philadelphia, the Poconos, Gettysburg and Hershey, PA.  Being that far east, Kathleen was able to join us over two weekends.  The colors were beautiful and it was great seeing Kathleen!  Unfortunately, Erin’s school schedule made it impossible for her to join us. 

As I write this Cathy and I are planning a prolonged camping trip to Florida with a stop in The Villages to visit Bill Blaney who will be staying at Bill and Karen Early’s place. We hope that Kathleen and Erin can join us.  Kathleen is still working for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Erin is in her third year of working as a Social Worker at Washington Middle School in Green Bay.  They got together this summer and traveled to Ireland, Wales and England.  

That’s it for Blaney news for 2017.  If you have time, we’d love to hear from you.

                                                                                    Merry Christmas!

                                                                                    Ken and Cathy