Pauline Ebner-Blake

A woman of elegance and ambition, Pauline was a 1959 graduate of Lima Central Catholic High School. In her youth, she was crowned Miss Lima and was named second runner-up in the Miss Ohio pageant. Her poise and adventurous spirit led her to Dallas, Texas, where she completed flight attendant training for American Airlines, a career she enjoyed until her first marriage in 1966.

For twenty years, Pauline and her husband, Thomas Blake, shared a wonderful life in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Pauline was an active member of her community, enjoying tennis matches with Tom, beach days, and bike rides. Pauline was also an artist, and gave her paintings to her family. For a period of time, she painted scenes of flowers, butterflies, and birds on mailboxes and sold them in her neighborhood.

She was a dedicated member of the Harvest United Methodist Church, where she found great joy in the fellowship of her small group dinner parties. During these years, she also took great pride in her "office work" at the kitchen table; she loved the daily ritual of getting the mail and spent many happy hours participating in charity raffles and sweepstakes, always eager to send off a few dollars in the spirit of hope and generosity.

In her final year and a half, Pauline moved to Tennessee to be near family. It was there that she found a new sense of wonder at the kitchen table, becoming captivated by the hummingbirds that gathered at the feeder just outside the window. Though she faced the challenges of dementia, these vibrant birds brought her fresh joy and amazement every time she saw them, a beautiful reminder of her ability to find happiness in the present moment.

Pauline is survived by her husband, Thomas Blake; her sons, Tim Dunderdale and his wife, Heidi, and Jason Dunderdale and his wife, Dawn; and her siblings, Dawn Kuppers, Suzanne Bossert, Drake Ebner, and Doug Ebner. She was a proud grandmother to Daniel, Delaney, Madeline, Jack, Hailey, Julia, and Liam, and a great-grandmother to Winter. She is also survived by her stepsons, Martin Blake and his wife, Belen, and Warren Blake and his wife, Karla, along with step-grandchildren Adam, Noah, and Ana. Pauline was preceded in death by her daughter, Allison Dunderdale, and her siblings, Yvonne Foster and Greg Ebner.