Hicks Home for Funerals, P.A.
Merrill Virginia "Missie" Blair, age 71, of Bel Air, MD, passed away on February 25, 2023. Born in Woodbridge, NJ, on November 12, 1951, Ms. Blair lived in New Jersey and Maryland before attending Mary Washington College in Virginia. She eventually settled in Holliston, MA, where she raised her two sons and retired after years as a mental health counselor for the mentally ill, homeless, and in K-12 schools. After retirement, she opened her home to the friends and friends-of-friends of her children, becoming known as the "town mom" for a group of teenagers now in their 30s. In her historic house on Church Street, she fed and counseled countless children who carry her with them to this day. She often had a cake in the kitchen to celebrate nothing in particular.
No matter where she lived, Ms. Blair stayed closely connected to her parents and their memories at the family property in Elkton, MD, where she most loved spotting deer and sitting on a screen porch to watch the Elk River. She proudly shared stories of picking her Christmas trees with her father in those woods and bathing her son in oatmeal in the cottage sink when he had chicken pox. Aside from the snakes, there was nothing more perfect to her than that place.
Ms. Blair was known to all as the picture of grace, love, and kindness. While she battled extensive health challenges for decades, she remained gentle despite being so tough. After overcoming a brain tumor in her 40s, she established a support group for those with traumatic brain injuries that continues to this day. After treatments for breast cancer and lung cancer, she became a regular donor to cancer societies and offered support to her peers in recovery. She dedicated her life to supporting all those who needed it; anyone was welcome at her table to talk over a cup of coffee, and the luckiest among us took her up on it.
Ms. Blair was incredibly proud to become "Mimi" in 2017 to her first grandchild, with whom she had an immediate and unshakeable connection. He spoke her name as one of his first words, and they remained like soulmates throughout the five years since.
Ms. Blair is survived by her longtime partner, Robert L. Teague, Sr.; children, David Blair Riley and Kevin Patrick Riley (Jennifer); and grandson, John Blair Riley. She was preceded in death by her parents, Oakley B. and Eleanor H. Merrill Blair, and her cat of 21 years, Abigail.
A celebration of her life will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at Hicks Home for Funerals, 103 W. Stockton Street, Elkton, MD, with a gathering to follow in Chesapeake City, MD.
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