Mary Louise Bloch

Mary Louise Bloch loved her church, city, favorite teams and home. She loved celebrations. And, most of all, she loved her family and friends. With her close family members by her side, Mary Lou, as she was known to her friends, passed away Wednesday evening, May 19, at Guthrie Golden Ages Nursing Home. She was 92, the same age as her husband, Henry, when he passed away in 2019. For many years, she was a resident of Oklahoma City but also called Columbus, Ohio, her home because she was born there in 1928. She moved with her family to Oklahoma City when she was 19 after attending The Ohio State University for a short time. She then attended the University of Oklahoma. She was the last surviving child of Otto and Margaret Fox, who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her four brothers and sisters, Virginia Crumb, Gene Fox, Barbara (Bobbie) Vaughan and Doug Fox. She was known as "Aunt Boo" by her nieces and nephews. On May 8, 1954, she married Henry Edward Bloch in Oklahoma City. They had been married 65 years before his death. Both were longtime members of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Oklahoma City. Mary Louise worked for an actuary for many years and then part time for the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System until starting full time there in the mid-1970s. She retired in the mid-1990s after processing thousands of retirements for Oklahoma public schoolteachers. In retirement, she enjoyed needlepoint, China painting, stained glass, playing bridge with friends, Wednesday night dinner with church friends, collecting, and numerous family holiday celebrations and gatherings. She enjoyed watching all sports on television and relished in attending an Oklahoma City Thunder game and the Ohio State-University of Oklahoma football game. She told everyone that she was a winner no matter who won the OU-OSU game. She is survived by her son, Keith Bloch, and his wife, Debbie, of Edmond; daughter, Nannette Hight, and her husband, Joe, of Edmond; her grandson, Kris Bloch, and his wife, Jenna, of Norwood, Mass.; her granddaughters Elena Hight, of Oklahoma City, and Elyse Hight, of Chicago, Ill.; her great-grandchildren, Henry and Ruby Bloch; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. A wake service honoring Mary Louise Bloch will be at 6 p.m. Monday, May 24, at Smith & Kernke Funeral Home, 1401 NW 23, Oklahoma City. The Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 25, at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 1901 NW 18, Oklahoma City, followed immediately by graveside services at Resurrection Memorial Cemetery where she will be buried next to her husband. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, May 24, at Smith & Kernke. The family wants to thank the staff at Golden Ages Nursing Home and Companion Hospice for her care. Donations in her name can be made to Rosary School Tuition Assistance, payable to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.