Marguerite Cain (Ebert) Blake
Born April 23, 1929 passed away on April 12, 2024. She was with her family at home, just as she wished.
A gathering will be held in Oak Ridge on Saturday, June 1 from 12:00 - 2:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. We will have a light lunch and share memories!
Marguerite is survived by her son, Edward, his wife, Brigitte, of San Mateo, CA and their three children, Ellen, Julia and Claire: daughter Patty Ebert Gordon and her husband, Alan Sibley of Minneapolis, MN: and Sharon Hackney and her husband, Lonnie, of Nashville TN. She is also survived by her stepchildren, Wendy Blake of Park City, UT, and Jody Blake of San Antonio, TX. Her stepson, Chuck, passed away in 2006. Her special friend was Norbert Grant, who passed away in 2022.
Marguerite was always her own person, beginning when she was the age of 16 and driving her parent’s car all over Minneapolis during the winter to deliver sets & props to a theater troupe based at the Women’s Club of Minneapolis
She graduated Washburn High School as valedictorian and went to Mills College in California for a year before returning to the theater world at the University of Minnesota. There she met life long friends and Paul Ebert. They married in 1954 and had (as Marguerite always said) the amazing good luck to move to Oak Ridge, TN where Paul became the director of the Oak Ridge Community Playhouse. After 3 years working for the Highland Rim Girl Scout Council and volunteering at the Playhouse, she was selected as one of the directors for the Oak Ridge Children's Theatre, later known as Junior Playhouse.
Marguerite also became the business manager of the Playhouse in 1959 and for the next 25 years she was the face of the Playhouse and Junior Playhouse. Innumerable children went through her Creative Dramatics classes and spent hours at the Playhouse for the two shows a year she directed. She loved the work there, the incredible volunteers, and years of being part of a fantastic group of creative, dedicated, funny and talented people who were part of the Playhouse family.
She also volunteered with the League of Women Voters, Recording for the Blind, and the Arts Council and wrote the Ask Inky column at The Oak Ridger in conjunction first with Mary Smyser and then Sam Richter. She was a founder and enthusiastic member of the lunch group, Monday Thing, which is still going after over 60 years.
In 184, Marguerite retired from the Playhouse and married Charlie Blake of Danbury, CT. After living there for three years, they moved back to Oak Ridge where they both resumed their volunteer work with the Playhouse and where she served on the Arts Council Board for the next 14 years.
The Blakes traveled a good deal with friends and family. Countries visited were England, France, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Greece, Italy and Turkey. They also enjoyed their time at their lake place on Watts Bar. Charlie passed away in February 2006. With and without Charlie, her favorite trip for many years was a week at Litchfield Beach with good friends where she could enjoy the company and the beach. You could find Marguerite with Charlie and later with Norb Grant at just about any Oak Ridge Community Band concert, ORMA event, Playhouse show or ORICL class. She continued attending events even after her hearing loss became profound simply because she loved being a part of the arts community and seeing all her friends.
Marguerite loved living in Oak Ridge and deeply appreciated her friends who were so special to her. She also considers herself fortunate to have had such wonderful and loving children. She loved to read, travel, attend the theater, concerts and opera, and spend time with family and friends. In 2023 she moved to Nashville to live with her daughter Sharon and that is where she passed, right in the middle of everything, just like she loved.
She would want to remind everyone to vote, support the arts and love your friends and family fiercely. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Oak Ridge Playhouse at www.orplayhouse.com or PO Box 5705, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.
An online memorial is available at: https://www.alternativecremationandfuneralservice.com/obituary/marguerite-blake.
