Evelyn Blunt

Evelyn (Day) Blunt

 May 1, 1925 – March 26, 2024

Often, people thought she was 20 years younger.

At age 78, she went deep sea fishing on her grandson’s boat and caught a 24-pound tuna. 

She played horseshoes into her eighties.

At age 97, she received an offer to show her paintings at an area restaurant. 

And until February of this year, she continued to live independently, doing her daily chores, enjoying light yard work and pursuing her interests without aid of a walker or cane. 

Eventually, however, time wins out and Evelyn May Blunt of Riviera Beach, Md. passed away on March 26, 2024, 35 days shy of her 99th birthday.

She grew up in Carroll and Howard counties in the Depression Era under hard economic circumstances. She was the eldest of four sisters and a brother and was very much a farm girl.  She climbed trees, tended to animals and helped out in the field.

On her high school softball team, she played third base – barehanded.

After high school, she and her sister Marie found work in the city at the Baltimore Transit Company.  There she met her future husband, Gilbert Blunt, and they were married in 1948.  They made their home in Baltimore, where they raised their son, Ralph.

Evelyn changed career paths, first becoming a crossing guard, then becoming a bank teller.  She rose from that entry position to marketing officer and branch manager for the Equitable Trust Company.  She once thwarted a bank robbery at her branch by crawling on her stomach to press the alarm button.

Born on May 1, 1925, her maiden name was Evelyn May Day, which would signify disaster in some contexts.  But she was anything but disastrous.  While working at the bank, she attended night school and earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Baltimore in 1971, one month before her son earned his at the University of Maryland.

At home she was a caring, nurturing person who valued family above all else. And her family loved her in return. Gilbert and Evelyn hosted innumerable family get-togethers after they moved to their home in Riviera Beach, featuring horseshoes, convivial conversation and an elaborate spread of food that she would prepare.  Gilbert and Evelyn also enjoyed travel, making day trips near and far, and going on vacations across the U.S., Europe and Canada.

When Gilbert fell ill in 2000, she became his devoted caregiver until his death in 2005.

In retirement, Evelyn was an avid reader, Oriole fan and puzzle solver, but her greatest passion was in her painting. A prolific artist in oils and water colors, she sold paintings as a member of the 25th Street art club in the 1960’s, and continued to sketch and paint into 2024.  Her home is an overflowing gallery of her work.

She is survived by her son, Ralph and daughter-in-law Maryellen Blunt of Pasadena, Md.; sister Marie Friedman of Timonium, Md.; grandson John Blunt and wife Taryn of Pasadena; grandson Jeremy Blunt and wife Jennifer of Ocean City, Md.; great grandchildren Jocelyn Blunt of Dadesville, Ala.; Jacob Blunt of Pasadena, and Piper Blunt of Ocean City; and by numerous nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and great grand nieces and nephews.

She is pre-deceased by her sisters Lulua Nixon and Daisie Pearl Spiwak, and brother Howard Day.

Funeral service will be held at Gonce Funeral Home, 169 Riviera Drive, Pasadena MD 21122 on Friday, March 29, viewing from 10 am to noon, with interment at Glen Haven Memorial Gardens immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Telephone Pioneers-Maryland Chapter and sent to 612 Schley Ave., Frederick MD 21702.

Evelyn attended many Pioneers functions and outings in her retirement and was warmly welcomed by the non-profit group.

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