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Obituaries

July 2019 Archive

Bert Alvin Blair

Bert Alvin Blair passed away at the Self Regional Healthcare Medical Center in Greenwood, SC on July 9, 2019 from complications of old age. He was born on March 19, 1927 at Mason, OH. He was the son of Ethol and Pearl Gaskins Blair. He was a graduate of Amelia High School and earned his Bachelor's degree in music education at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati majoring in piano and minoring in viola. While in undergraduate school he served as president of the student council and president of the Eta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity. He married Dorothy Jean Denman on June 23, 1951 at Bond Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, OH.

While teaching instrumental music in the Middletown and Hamilton OH school systems, he served a term as president of the Southwest Ohio District of the Ohio Music Education Association. He pursued graduate studies at the Univ of Michigan and Miami Univ of OH earning his master's degree in music in 1959. In 1966 he was on of forty chosen from over four hundred applicants to study at the Institute for the Study of Advanced Music Literature at the University of Iowa. His major work in music education moved the Blair family to Lima, OH where he was Coordinator of Strings and Orchestras for the city schools for nineteen yrs. During his tenure he and wife, Dottie, played first stand viola in the Lima Symphony where he also served as assistant conductor.

After retiring from his public school teaching he began a string instrument repair business which he ran for 15 yrs. He also made arrangements for piano trios and string quartets which he and Dottie played at weddings and receptions. This proved very successful when they moved to FL in 1994 and were very much in demand to play for various occasions there. As part of his playing career he and Dottie played 1st stand viola in the Northwest Florida Symphony for ten years, and were members of the Pensacola Symphony and the Choctahatchee Symphony. In 2004 they retired to Hendersonville, NC where they ended their playing careers but continued in the orchestral scene by restructuring the music library of the Hendersonville Symphony as well as serving as music librarians for the Hendersonville Symphony Youth Orchestras for several yrs.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Jean Denman and their six children: son Tom Blair (Charlene) of Corbin, KY, daughters Karen DeLong (Craig) of Reading, PA, Marty Blair (James Heffel) of McCormick, SC, Nancy Lawrence of Colorado Springs, CO, Amy Blair of Ostrander, OH and Melissa Rucker (Jared) of Apple Valley, CA. He was "grandpa" to 9 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

Burial will be in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.

Bert was born with a rare bleeding disorder called Hemophilia B. Some of his grandsons have also been affected. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the National Hemophilia Foundation at www.hemophilia.org or mail to Attn: Development Department, 7 Penn Plaza, Ste 1204, New York, NY 10001. Please indicate it is for Hemophilia B research. His other great love was the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. https://ccm.{weshareonline.org or mail to College-Conservatory of Music, Univ of Cincinnati, Attn: Development Office, PO Box 210003, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0003. Please indicate it is for Music Education Dept.

For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.

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Bert Alvin Blair

Bert Alvin Blair passed away at the Self Regional Healthcare Medical Center in Greenwood, SC on July 9, 2019 from complications of old age. He was born on March 19, 1927 at Mason, OH. He was the son of Ethol and Pearl Gaskins Blair. He was a graduate of Amelia High School and earned his Bachelor's degree in music education at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati majoring in piano and minoring in viola. While in undergraduate school he served as president of the student council and president of the Eta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity. He married Dorothy Jean Denman on June 23, 1951 at Bond Hill Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, OH.

While teaching instrumental music in the Middletown and Hamilton OH school systems, he served a term as president of the Southwest Ohio District of the Ohio Music Education Association. He pursued graduate studies at the Univ of Michigan and Miami Univ of OH earning his master's degree in music in 1959. In 1966 he was on of forty chosen from over four hundred applicants to study at the Institute for the Study of Advanced Music Literature at the University of Iowa. His major work in music education moved the Blair family to Lima, OH where he was Coordinator of Strings and Orchestras for the city schools for nineteen yrs. During his tenure he and wife, Dottie, played first stand viola in the Lima Symphony where he also served as assistant conductor.

After retiring from his public school teaching he began a string instrument repair business which he ran for 15 yrs. He also made arrangements for piano trios and string quartets which he and Dottie played at weddings and receptions. This proved very successful when they moved to FL in 1994 and were very much in demand to play for various occasions there. As part of his playing career he and Dottie played 1st stand viola in the Northwest Florida Symphony for ten years, and were members of the Pensacola Symphony and the Choctahatchee Symphony. In 2004 they retired to Hendersonville, NC where they ended their playing careers but continued in the orchestral scene by restructuring the music library of the Hendersonville Symphony as well as serving as music librarians for the Hendersonville Symphony Youth Orchestras for several yrs.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Jean Denman and their six children: son Tom Blair (Charlene) of Corbin, KY, daughters Karen DeLong (Craig) of Reading, PA, Marty Blair (James Heffel) of McCormick, SC, Nancy Lawrence of Colorado Springs, CO, Amy Blair of Ostrander, OH and Melissa Rucker (Jared) of Apple Valley, CA. He was "grandpa" to 9 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

Burial will be in Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH.

Bert was born with a rare bleeding disorder called Hemophilia B. Some of his grandsons have also been affected. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the National Hemophilia Foundation at www.hemophilia.org or mail to Attn: Development Department, 7 Penn Plaza, Ste 1204, New York, NY 10001. Please indicate it is for Hemophilia B research. His other great love was the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. https://ccm.{weshareonline.org or mail to College-Conservatory of Music, Univ of Cincinnati, Attn: Development Office, PO Box 210003, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0003. Please indicate it is for Music Education Dept.

For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.

Read More »