Independent spirit, mother of Harvard man
Harriet Blain. (Courtesy photo)
Harriet Blain, 96, passed away peacefully surrounded by family at her Harvard home Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, after a short illness. Harriet lived the definition of a long, full life, and the last few days were no different; she regaled three generations of her family with stories of her youth, joyfully ate baked haddock, and showed us all how to gracefully and bravely face another inevitable part of life with humor and a strong sense of self.
Harriet was born and raised in New York City, the daughter of immigrants Sarah and Israel Banks. She frequently told vivid and entertaining stories of her early years, including rowing a boat into the middle of a lake to avoid Prohibition officers (per her father’s request), dancing and listening to swing and jazz music in 1940s NYC (her nickname was “Swivel Hips”), and hitchhiking with a girlfriend in 1944 from NYC to Provincetown—among many other notable events.
She met her husband, Alec, in a Hollywood-esque “meet cute” during World War II in Times Square while he was on leave from the Royal Merchant Marines, and they wrote to each other for seven years before Alec immigrated and became a U.S. citizen when they married in 1952. Harriet and Alec raised a family in Canton and later lived in Pocasset on Cape Cod and in West Palm Beach, Florida, where they made very close and dear friends.
Harriet lived in Harvard for the past nine years at Foxglove Apartments, and she thoroughly enjoyed the Harvard Council on Aging events and all her friends in town. In her later years she loved taking ocean cruises, spending time on Cape Cod, and enjoying holidays with family. Harriet was known for having more friends and social engagements than her grandkids, even in her 90s. Her grandchildren say she was the “epitome of badass.”
Harriet is survived by her daughter, Cindy Sullivan, of Dunstable; her son, Bruce, and his wife, Jayne, of Harvard; her grandchildren, Sarah Sullivan, Beth Sullivan, Alec Sullivan, Myles Blain, and Camilla and Kevin Rojas; her great-grandchildren, Summer and Alex Rojas; and many, many dear friends.
There will be no formal service. The family thanks everyone for their thoughts and prayers.
