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Barbara (Pinky) Willard Blessing

| August 31, 2021 3:00 PM

January 22, 1925 – August 29, 2021

Barbara (Pinky) Willard Blessing, 96, loving mother, grandmother and friend, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 29. Pinky, the daughter of Rex and Ruth Willard, was born on Jan. 22, 1925, in Fargo, North Dakota. She had one sister, Winifred Willard Neill.

The Willard family moved often due to Rex’s work obligations. Rex accepted a position with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of California at Berkley, which brought the family to the West Coast. Pinky began her college career at Cal Berkley until her sophomore year when the family relocated to Pullman, Washington. She graduated from Washington State (her mother’s alma mater) with a degree in business administration.

While in Pullman she met the brother of her roommate Charmaine, Donald P. Blessing, whom she married on Jan. 31, 1948. They began their family shortly after in the Seattle area but relocated to Moses Lake in 1952. Upon arrival in Moses Lake, Don and Pinky opened an insurance agency and Pinky took a position as a staff accountant at Quinn and Callahan.

In 1965, Pinky decided that, in order to become a partner/owner in what became Wood and Quinn and later Wood and Blessing, she would sit for the CPA exam. She and her business partner, Norm Wood, ran a successful accounting firm serving clients in the Basin for over 20 years. They sold the business in the 1980s to LeMaster and Daniels, for whom she remained employed until her retirement in 1990.

Pinky was the ultimate grandma. Her 10 grandchildren loved her deeply and will never forget the fun times and experiences she provided them and many of their friends. She was their biggest fan at wrestling, basketball, football, softball games, golf matches, concerts and plays.

In addition to her family activities, she was an active member of PEO and Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, an avid golf and bridge player at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club and a devout Mariners Fan.

Pinky was preceded in death by her parents, sister, husband Don, daughter Peggy Blessing and daughter-in-law Deborah (Murray) Blessing. She is survived by her daughter Kathy Forsberg (John), son Greg Blessing (Maggie), Chris Blessing and Kim Hoiness (Clete), 10 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and her sister-in-law Charmaine Blessing Gorrie.

The family will hold a private mass at Our Lady of Fatima on Thursday, Sept. 2, followed by a Celebration of Life at the Moses Lake Country Club for family and friends at 2 p.m.