Britta Louise Nesbitt Blair was born on August 13, 1938, the daughter of Harold Emerson Nesbitt and Britta Louise Postelwaite Nesbitt.
She attended Indiana High School where she graduated with honors and was the winner of the Lubold Award, an outstanding citizenship award presented by Superintendent Jesse Lubold. She matriculated at Muskingum University, but transferred in her junior year to Mount Holyoke University, where she was a 1960 graduate with a degree in chemistry.
Following graduation, Britta married McClellan Gordon Blair and moved to Rochester, NY, where she obtained employment as editor of Eastman Kodak’s technical bulletins while her husband pursued a doctoral degree in Physics at the University of Rochester. It was here that their first three children were born: Elizabeth Hall Blair Wallwork (1961), Christina Reinhardt Blair Lubold (1963), and Janet Nesbitt Blair West (1965). A son, James Gordon Blair (1970) was born subsequent to the couple’s return to Indiana.
Britta was, first and foremost, a dedicated mother and an active supporter of her children in all of their activities. She was an avid and successful gardener, taking pride in her horticultural specimens, and was a long-time member of the Indiana Garden Club, serving in many leadership roles within the organization. She developed outstanding skill in flower arrangement and was a regular winner in local and regional flower shows. She passed her expertise to others by becoming a nationally accredited flower show judge. She was also a talented and expert knitter and seamstress. Active in Calvary Presbyterian Church affairs, Britta served as deacon for many years. She also participated in Questers and the IUP Museum Board of Directors.
Britta is survived by her children and their spouses and 11 grandchildren: Britta Wallwork Pate and husband Jason, Alexander, and James Wallwork, Anthony, Elizabeth, and Michael Lubold, David West and wife Jenny, Eric West and wife Aja, and Matthew, Isabella and Emma Blair. Also surviving are six great grandchildren, Emmylou, Weston, Zella, Waylan and Elinor Pate and Henry West.
She was preceded in death by her husband, McClellan, her brother, James Harold Nesbitt and her sister, Clara Elizabeth (Libby) Griffiths.
Friends will be received by the family from 4 – 7 PM on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in the Bowser-Minich Funeral Home, 500 Ben Franklin Road South, Indiana, PA 15701. A funeral service will be held at 11 AM on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at the funeral home with the Rev. David Hanna officiating. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Pennsylvania Chapter or any of the hospice care organizations in Indiana.
To send an online condolence to the family, please visit www.bowserminich.com
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