Blanche Holt Gwyn

Ms. Blanche Holt Gwyn, retired technical writer and advertising editor for the Tennessee Eastman Company and long-time resident of Mount Airy, died Sunday, March 2, 2008, at her home in Sanford. She was 93 years old and had been in failing health. Born in Mount Airy, she grew up on North Main Street. After graduating from Mount Airy High School, she attended the Woman's College of North Carolina, now UNC-Greensboro, where she graduated with a degree in business in 1936. Following graduation, she accepted a job with the Tennessee Eastman Company and moved to Kingsport, TN. In 1942, she volunteered to join the United Sates Navy as part of the women accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES. She was commissioned as an Ensign in 1943 and was then assigned to the Bureau of Ships in Washington, DC, as a repair expediter. She served there through the end of the war, coordinating the delivery and installation of replacement systems to damaged warships returning from the Atlantic and Pacific. She attained her private pilot's license in 1940, and flew with the civil air patrol. Her two brothers also served in the war, one as a navigator in the Army Air Corps and the other in the infantry. After the war's end, she transferred to the Navy Reserve, where she was assigned to numerous positions in the USNR Intelligence Program. Rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander, she served proudly until her retirement in 1963. As the war ended, Ms. Gwyn rejoined Tennessee Eastman in New York City. In Eastman's New York offices, she served as a technical writer and advertising editor, promoting new uses of plastics, dyes, and other Eastman chemical products. She continued her education by completing a master's degree from Columbia University, and was an avid theater and opera fan. She lived in New York for 25 years. In 1970, she returned to Kingsport and retired from Tennessee Eastman in 1979 after 41 years of service. Shortly after retiring, Ms. Gwyn moved back to Mount Airy where she lived until 2007. An avid golfer, bridge player, and gardener, Ms. Gwyn was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, where she taught adult Sunday school and served as an elder. She was a member of the Ingenue Book Club, and contributed to the Surry County Historical Society. She was also the organizer of a neighborhood walking group that called themselves the "Hoof and Mouth Club," after their habit of dining after their fresh-air excursions. Although never married, she was an inspiration to her two nieces and four nephews. "She gave us a wonderful appreciation of the arts and the world, and made us aware that we were always expected to do our absolute best. She was well ahead of many of her peers in being so independent, having a career and really enjoying life to the fullest. Ms. Gwyn moved to Sanford in March of 2007 to be closer to her niece, Mrs. Gwyn Maples, as her health began to decline. A lover of good books, good music, and challenging cross word puzzles, she faithfully listened to the weekly New York Metropolitan Opera broadcasts to the end. Blanche Gwyn was the eldest child of Joseph Hollingworth Gwyn of Mount Airy and Blanche Holt Gwyn, formerly of Oak Ridge. As the oldest grandchild, she was privileged to spend much of her childhood with her grandparents, John Allen Holt and Sarah Knight Holt of Oak Ridge School. She was the last remaining of two sons and three daughters. In addition to Mrs. Maples of Sanford, she is survived by another niece, Susanna Revelle Gwyn of Huntsville, AL; and nephews, A. Holt Gwyn of Greensboro, J. Richard Gwyn of Severna Park, MD, Scott L. Gwyn of Winston-Salem, and Joseph H. Gwyn of Glen Burnie, MD. She is also survived by ten great nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Mount Airy at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, March 5, 2008. Interment will follow immediately at Oakdale Cemetery on North Main Street. After the interment, the family will receive friends at Ridgecrest Retirement Center. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Salvation Army, 651 South South Street, Mount Airy, NC 27030, or First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 1286, Mount Airy, NC 27030.