Oma Blankenship

1929-2003

Oma Blankenship was born on May 7, 1929 in the small town of Florence, Colorado to Erma and Marion Blankenship. In early 1932, her father died and her mother went to work to support the three children she was raising on her own. Times were extremely tough during the Great Depression, so Oma decided to go to work as a young girl in order to buy a Schwinn bicycle by picking vegetables, shining shoes, and delivering papers. Her mother later remarried and the family moved to Portland during World War II. While attending high school, Oma worked as a soda fountain attendant at the Tik-Tok Drive In on East Burnside. She graduated from Washington High School in 1947 and continued working at the Tik-Tok in order to pay for college. Oma graduated from the Oregon College of Education in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree. She went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Portland and her Juris Doctorate from Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in 1961. Oma once dreamed of being a physician or an astronaut, but she later decided that she liked teaching best.

She began her teaching career at Colton High School in 1952 and then taught at the University of Portland for nine years, where she served as the Director of Physical Education for Women. It was an exciting time of change in women’s sports and Oma struggled without budget, power, or prestige in fighting to make certain her girls got the same advantages as the boys enjoyed. In 1964, she moved to Portland State College (later University) and became a Professor of Physical Education, as well as serving as the Director of Women’s Sports. In addition to her full teaching schedule, Oma was one of the first female coaches at PSU, coaching tennis, volleyball, and basketball. A true pioneer in the field of women’s sports, she possessed the courage, strength, and personality that made her a favorite instructor, coach, and mentor at PSU.

Oma was instrumental in bringing the first national volleyball tournament to PSU in 1974, and was selected in 1999 as “Pathfinder of the Year,” an honor awarded by the National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, recognizing women who have developed sports programs and opportunities for women and girls. During her years at PSU, she saw an enormous growth in women’s athletics and always provided the needed support for women’s rights and equality. Oma gave freely of her time, talents, and resources to help develop the athletic department into a competitive and thriving organization.

An advocate of all young people, Oma continued to teach and work with children following her retirement from PSU in 1991. She volunteered her time and resources for many years at Atkinson Elementary in southeast Portland, working primarily with kindergarten students. Oma possessed a dynamic personality that drew people to her naturally, and children followed her like the Pied Piper everywhere she went.

Several things set Oma apart from the crowd: tennis shoes in every color to match each outfit she owned, the same hairstyle she wore for more than five decades, a voice that resonated clear across campus, and the 1957 Ford Thunderbird that she drove every day for more than twenty-five years. She was a comical sight when she put the top down on the T-Bird and took her sheepdog named Spoodle for a ride. Her nieces and nephews took turns learning to drive in that car, and she took pride in teaching them all to drink coffee with cream and sugar. 

Through all her life, Oma attributed much of her success to her mother. She once wrote that, through all her life, she felt the real influence of her mother’s courage and determination. Her mom had to quit school after the fifth grade to help support the family. She impressed upon Oma the need for a good education and for her to work hard for the things that she wanted. Her mother’s constant love and understanding were certainly a guide in her life. Oma showed that love in return by providing a private caregiver for her mother so she could remain at home during her last years of Alzheimer’s disease.

Oma Blankenship, known as “Miss B” or “Dr. B” by her students and those she coached, died on July 28, 2003. Her passing leaves a great void in the lives of those who knew and loved her, but her legacy and soul live on in all of us through her teachings, compassion, courage, style, and in the way she lived and conducted her life. She is greatly missed by everyone that knew her, but we are all better people for having her loving guidance in our lives.

Written by her family