William Henry Blenko Jnr [6606]

1921-2014

Father Nm: William Henry Blenko [6595] born 20.1.1897 Kokomo Indiana died 11.3.1969 Milton W VA m Marian Hunt [6605] born 7.12.1899 died 3.9.1989 Milton WV 1933 CEO Blenko Glass Corp

Mother Nm: Marion Hunt 1900–1989 BIRTH 7 DECEMBER 1900 • Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania DEATH 3 SEPTEMBER 1989 • Milton, Cabell County, West Virginia,

Marriage Dt: 31 Aug 1946 • Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA to Jeanne M Deakin

K comments: Father William Henry served with the Army Air Service in WW1. Mother Jeanne with the Women’s Royal Air Force. Uncle Walter served in the RAF in WW1. Cousin Walter John served with the 95th Infantry Division in WW2. Wife Jeanne Deakin served as WAAF in WW2

Spouse comments: Jeanne M Deakin 1924–1985.  BIRTH 14 MAY 1924 • Leicester, Leicester Unitary Authority, Leicestershire, England. DEATH 8 OCTOBER 1985 • Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States of America.

(Research): Ancestry

Oldest Known Ancestor: Huett Blencowe, C1720, Wolverton

Children: Dr William Henry Blenko III 29.5.1947 Milton VA died 25.8.2002 Huntington, West Virginia.  Richard Deakin Blenko born 13.1.1953  Milton Va

Birth

BIRTH 24 MAY 1921 • Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio,

Before the War

1930 US Census

Milton, Cabell, West Virginia, USA

1. William H Blenko 33 Manufacturer
2. Marrion H Blenko 29
3. William H Blenko 9

1940 US Census

Milton, Cabell, West Virginia, USA

William H Blenko 43
Marion Blenko 40
William H Blenko 19
Manna Lucas 22

 

WW2

Blenko William Henry Jnr, 1st Lieut. 15170652,  8th USAAF

1942

• Graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology with BSc.
• 1 December. Volunteered and joined the US Army Air Force.

1943

• January. Army Air Forces Technical Training School established at Yale University for the training of aviation cadets in various fields. The Army leased physical facilities from the University but was responsible for all instruction in the school.
• William begins training at Yale University which was converted into Technical Training School in 1943 for the war period.

1944-45

• No record but in 1944 William was probably posted to the 8th USAAF operations in Honington, Thetford, Norfolk. We do not know his exact role likely Officer in the Technical support units for the Aircraft. Note in 1944 364th Fighter Group of the 8th USAAF was flying missions from Honington. (The 364th Fighter Group flew 342 missions in P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs from Honington, Suffolk. The missions ranged from escorting bombers and dive-bombing and strafing targets to area patrol missions across a swathe of land that took in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. After converting to P-51 Mustangs, the Group also flew long-range bomber escort missions, winning a Distinguished Unit Citation for their defence of B-17 Flying Fortresses on a mission to Frankfurt on 27 December 1944.

  

Notes on Honington Airfield

In late 1942 the station was handed over to the United States 8th Army Air Force and the Advanced Air Depot No1 was set up to repair and modify the B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 3rd Bomber Division. In 1943 the Unit was renamed the 1st Strategic Air Depot and they moved most of their facilities to the Troston site, an area extending between Rymer Point and the present Air Traffic Control Tower. The airfield was enlarged in preparation for the arrival of the 36th Fighter Group (383rd, 384th & 385th Fighter Squadron and later the 1st Scouting Force) in 1944. The Group initially flew the lightning but were quickly re-equipped with the Mustang and they achieved notable success in their role as a fighter escort to the bombers. They also took part in strafing and dive-bombing missions and they played an important part in the battle of the Bulge and the assault across the Rhine in 1945. They earned a distinguished Unit citation escorting a bombing raid over Hamburg and flew their last mission on 25 April 1945 after completing 342 missions and destroying 449 aircraft against 143 losses. Before the Americans left, several large pits were excavated near the woods opposite Crash Gate 2, and filled with great quantities of equipment, ranging from broken aircraft to small technical and domestic items. Honington was the last American wartime base in England to be returned to the RAF in February 1946.”

• While at a party in nearby Bury St Edmunds William meets Jeanne Margaret Deakin who was serving as a WAAF in the war. Their meeting and romance a fairly common event usually resulted in a marriage before they could return as a couple to USA but their story is a bit different. see 1946.

  

After the War

1946 Two Marriages

William and Jeanne had two ceremonies one very unusual for the time. As this article states in August they had a 1st ceremony recorded in the US but Jenne wasn’t physically present it was conducted over the phone From the Leicester Evening Mail 20 August 1946

Note on the 28th August 1946 Jeanne and William married formally in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

Back in USA

William H Jnr joins the family business started by his grandfather, Blenko Glass in Milton and becomes President in 1969 after the death of his father William Henry Blenko. In 1976 his son Richard Deakin Blenko joins the Company. When time ran hard and nearing bankruptcy in 1980 brother Walter John Jnr came into the company to resurrect it into the thriving business it is today.

Wife Jeanne was very active in the promotion of the Blenko business as were the two sons when they were old enough. Jeanne’s artistic eye was used to design the new showrooms and the brochures from this time are very much artistic in inspiration

1965

Photo of Son William H III attending Woodberry High School

1976

Bill hands over business to son  Richard Deaken Blenko who was President from 1976-2008 .

Death 2016

Death Date: 5 Feb 2016
Death Place: Milton, Cabell County, West Virginia, United States of America

Obituary

William Henry Blenko, Jr., 94, of Milton, passed away on Friday, February 5, 2016 at his residence. Born in 1921, he was a son of the late William Henry Blenko, Sr. and Marion Hunt from the famous Hunt Stained Glass Studios. William attended Milton High School and was named valedictorian in 1938. He played on the Milton High School basketball team as forward and center at 5’11”. He attended the prestigious Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, PA where he was asked to join Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. While there, he played intramural sports and played a big role in winning the intramural championship in basketball. When World War II began, he patriotically volunteered for the Army Air Corp and trained at Yale. He was commissioned as a First Lieutenant and was stationed to the East Anglia Air bases. William served at Honnington Air Field, England, and the Thetford, England. It was during this time in the Air Corp that he met Jeanne Margaret Deakin, of Oadby, England, who was in the Royal Air Force. They were married in Pittsburgh in 1946. William became the third generation to work at Blenko Glass Company in Milton, WV. He was a lifelong member of the VFW, the Lion’s Club, The Ceramic Society and was an avid Marshall sports fan. He became president of the Blenko Glass Company in 1969 with the death of his father. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife, Jeanne Deakin Blenko; his son, William Blenko III; close friends, Robert Stein of Chicago, Hinton Richmond, Hollis Griffith and Nestor Logan. He is survived by his son, Richard and Marty Blenko and his sister-in-law, Cathleen Cooper of Leicester, England. A private ceremony was held on February 8, 2016. Memorial contributions may be made in his honor to the Hospice of Huntington.

Heck Funeral Home Sons Obituary

DR. WILLIAM H. BLENKO III, 55, of Williamstown, Vt., formerly of Milton, died Sunday in St. Mary’s Hospital. Incomplete arrangements by Heck Funeral Home, Milton.
(Aug 26, 2002)

Dr. William H. Blenko, III, 55, of Williamstown, Vt., formerly of Milton passed away Sunday, August 25, 2002, in St Mary’s Medical Center. He was born May 29, 1947, in Huntington, W.Va., a son of William R Blenko Jr. of Milton and the late Jeanne M. Deakin Blenko. William was a graduate of Woodberry Forest, Milton High School and Marshall University. He had a masters degree in counseling from the University of South Carolina. He obtained a D.V.M. from the Ross School of Veterinary Medicine. He is survived by his father, William H. Blenko Jr. and special friend, Delores Hogan; brother and sister-in-law, Richard D. and Blenko of Milton; uncle, James and Marie Deakin of Milton and a host of other family and friends throughout the United States and England.

Medals

He was probably awarded the following medal;

 

Sources

1. U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
2. U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
3. U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2010
4. U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954
5. Ancestry Military Tree of Blencowes ww2

Gallery

William Henry Blenko