Mrs. Helen Mason Blosser

Early on the morning of Monday, July 27, 2020, Helen Mason Blosser passed away in her long-time home overlooking Mobile Bay in Fairhope, AL. Both she and the house were 100 years old. Helen lived many places in the United States but always returned home to Fairhope, AL. Helen is survived by her five children, Fred Blosser, Sandy Mikul, Bob Blosser, Susan Acree, and Donald Blosser, as well as her ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A member of the “Greatest Generation,” Helen Mason Blosser was born on October 12, 1919 in Ridgeville, IN. Intelligent, stubborn, and fiercely independent, she grew up on a small farm and was determined to escape from rural life. On December 7, 1941 she headed for Cleveland, OH, arriving just in time to hear that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. As the war broke out, she took secretarial courses from Fenn College and got a job working for a metallurgist. It was in Cleveland that she met Robert Blosser, an officer in the Army Air Forces. Despite his persistence, she was not ready to give up her new-found independence and turned down his repeated offers of marriage. She may have finally met someone as stubborn as she was, because eventually she gave in and the two were married on May 2, 1944. The two continued to travel around the country wherever the Army Air Forces sent Robert. After World War II ended, Robert left in Army Air Forces and worked various civilian jobs. At this time, Helen was devoting herself to being a full-time homemaker and mother to their five children. In 1961, Robert accepted a job at Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, AL and the family first came to Fairhope. All seven Blossers immediately fell in love with Fairhope, but it was a love affair that did not last. After the closing of Brookley, the family was uprooted yet again as Robert transferred to Tinker Air Force Base and the family relocated to Midwest City, Oklahoma. However, they kept the family home in Fairhope with the intention of returning someday. All of this traveling around the country created a zest in Helen for seeing new people and places. As the children grew older, she and Robert found time to travel to Europe, visiting England, Switzerland, West Germany and Austria. In 1982, Robert and Helen returned to Fairhope. They were able to spend a few more years together before Robert passed in 1985 from cancer. Helen continued to travel to places like Dubai and Prague, volunteered at hospitals, played bridge, read voraciously, experimented in the kitchen, acquired antiques, and was visited frequently by her children and grandchildren. There were always rum balls and fruitcake cookies at Christmas and decks of cards laid on the kitchen table. Armed with a dry wit, Helen was always ready with a quick comeback or a sly smile. She was a woman far ahead of her time, someone who valued education, experience, good food, and good conversation. She was not a diplomat, but a woman who spoke her mind and tried to live life on her own terms. We will miss her.

Mrs. Helen Mason Blosser

October 12, 1919 - July 27, 2020