Wilbur Jacob Blew

Wilbur Jacob Blew, age 90, died peacefully at home in his sleep on May 25. He will be greatly missed by his family. Wilbur was born in Pottsville, PA on June 17, 1929 to Wilbert Blew and Mame (Geiger) Blew. Wilbur presented his entrepreneurial spirit early in life when as a child growing up in Tamaqua and later in Philadelphia, he held many jobs and had interesting stories of his experiences while working after school in a grocery store, the local drug store, gas station and movie theater. While working at his summer job in the kitchen of Camp Hagan he met his future wife Hannelore, who was a camp counselor. During his college years, he commuted to NYC from Philadelphia, while he played football for two years on the Eagles’ farm team. He moved to the Lehigh Valley to work for the Wood Company following completion of his degree at the New York Institute of Dietetics and eventually became the company Executive Vice President and Chief Operating officer. One of his first assignments was to serve as the food service manager at Lehigh University, and this developed into a life time love of the school and fan of the football team. He was the recipient of Lehigh’s Good Neighbor Award in 1967. Wilbur later started his own company, Meals to You, for catering to the community and for provisioning corporate aircraft for some of the Fortune 500. He was one of the founders of the Ambassador bank and was involved in developing and founding Providence Place retirement community in Pottsville. Wilbur also served on the boards of Lafayette Ambassador Bank, Whitehall Township Planning Commission, Lehigh Valley Industrial Park, Minsi Trail Boy Scout Council, Meals on Wheels of Lehigh and Northampton Counties, Lehigh Community College Board of Trustees, and The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia. Wilbur saw the opportunity for people to have good jobs in the Foodservice Management industry, and he was instrumental in developing and teaching courses at the local community colleges to give people that experience. Wilbur was active in the church and became a member of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church when he and his wife moved to Allentown in 1954. Wilbur was proud of his military service during the Korean conflict during which he was a member of the 101st Airborne of the US Army. He was awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. He had many hobbies including earning his pilot's license, and he enjoyed working on his home and yard. If the Eagles were playing, he would be watching the game. Most of all Wilbur loved having his family around him and entertaining from football tailgate parties, backyard barbeques to formal holiday events, always with fabulous food. He is survived by his loving wife Hannelore of 65 years, his daughter Kristine Pearson and her husband John of Avon Connecticut, son Eric and his wife Denise of Orefield, daughter Alison Roithmayr and her husband Peter of Malvern, his grandchildren Christopher Roithmayer and his wife Kasia, Alison Pearson and her fiancé Kunal Arya, Carl Blew, and Rebecca Roithmayr and great grandson Jacob Roithmayr. He is also survived by his sister Patricia Hamsher, brother-in-law Henry Freye, MD, and sister-in-law Dorothy Freydberg and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his sisters Eva Fleming and Annabel Schlosser. Services are private. A memorial service will be announced at a later date. Contributions in his memory may be made to St John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 37 S 5th St, Allentown, PA 18101, or The United Lutheran Seminary, 61 Seminary Ridge Gettysburg, PA 17325

Wilbur Jacob Blew

May 25, 2020