THE recent death of Philomena ‘Mena’ Blake, 71, has seen an outpouring of tributes for a person “who always put the needs of others before herself”.
At her Requiem Mass on Monday at St Michael’s Church, Monsignor Peter O’Reilly described Mena’s life as one that was “well lived” a description her son, local SDLP Cllr Paul Blake, agreed with.
“She would have wanted a minimal fuss made at a time like this, but the number of people that turned out to pay their respects told a different story,” said Paul.
“It has helped us to deal with it as a family. To know she has lived a full life and was well respected. It’s given us great comfort.”
A daughter of John and Annie Dooris, Mena was brought up in Castle Street, Enniskillen.
After attending Mount Lourdes she qualified as a teacher at St Mary’s College in Belfast.
After this, she worked as a well-liked and admired teacher at the Convent Primary School which later became St Theresa’s Primary School and Holy Trinity Primary School.
Even after Mena retired from teaching, her workload didn’t decrease. She was heavily involved in parish work and was also an active member of St Joseph’s College board of governors, among her many community activities.
“She was always on the go and loved being at the heart of things,” said Paul. “She was a great listener and would always be there to give people support in whatever way she could.
“She always put the needs of others before herself. Even during her illness she never complained and just got on with it.
“It’s been a great source of comfort to know how respected she was by so many people here.”
Save Our Swah Services steering committee chairman Reggie Ferguson was one of the many who passed on his sympathies to the Blake family on behalf of the group.
“We would like to all give our condolences to Paul and his family in relation to the death of his mother, who was a well-known teacher from this town and a very popular teacher,” he said.
Beloved wife of Pat and loving mother of William, Briege and Paul (Anna-Marie), Mena was a much-loved sister of Una (Pat), Mary, (Stuart) and Brendan (Rosie), and sister-in-law of Ann (Paul RIP).
Mena’s Requiem Mass took place on Monday at St Michael’s Church, Enniskillen, and burial was afterwards in Cross Cemetery.
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