Charlen Bladdy Obituary

Charlen LeCrone Bladdy

Charlen LeCrone Bladdy died Friday, May 30, 2025, at Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, Illinois, of interstitial lung disease. She was 81. Her niece, Michele LeCrone Wolford, was by her side.

Charlen, nicknamed "Chico", was born December 4, 1943, to Charles (Chuck) L. Cronin and Mary Helen McCracken Cronin in Tiffin. Helen, unfortunately, died three weeks after Charlen's birth. Because it was during WWII and Chuck was in the Army at the time, Charlen's aunt and uncle, Charles and Luella LeCrone of Tiffin, stepped in to raise her, later formally adopting her into their family. Her cousins Mary Lou, Arden, and Jay became her sisters and brother.

Charlen was a 1961 graduate of Tiffin Columbian High School and a 1965 graduate of Heidelberg University in Tiffin, where she was a member of the Euglossian Society. After graduation, she taught English and Spanish and was the advisor to the school newspaper at Columbian High School. After two years, she sought a wider world and joined United Airlines as a flight attendant. It was at her Chicago apartment complex that she met her future husband, Jerome (Jerry) S. Bladdy. They were married in 1968.

Jerry introduced her to the big city of Chicago. They settled in Wilmette, Illinois and enjoyed entertaining their many friends and local relatives, as well as exploring all the opportunities the Chicago area provided. They moved to Glenview, Illinois, in 1998, where Chico lived until her passing.

Charlen started teaching for the Chicago Public Schools in 1971 and obtained an MS in education from Northern Illinois University in 1974. She taught for many years at Jamieson Elementary School in the Chicago Public School System working with hearing impaired students until she retired. After her retirement, she and Jerry enjoyed traveling, entertaining, and going to theater productions in Chicago.

Chico was an avid reader and knitter, who sent her famous Afghans to innumerable friends and relatives. She had a wicked sense of humor and was not afraid to share her opinions and beliefs on a variety of subjects. She kept in touch with many of her Tiffin relatives and friends by phone, email and snail mail. She sent birthday cards every year to family members and friends, including several high school classmates in Tiffin.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Jerome Bladdy, in 2008; her parents, Charles and Lou LeCrone; sisters, Mary Lou Weaver and Arden Harmon; brother, Jay LeCrone; nieces, Andrea Harmon and Shar Harmon. She is survived by her half sister, Mary Cronin (John Johnson) of Ann Arbor, Michigan; many nieces and nephews,great and great-great nieces and nephews.

There will be no funeral service per her request. The family wishes to thank Michele Wolford, her husband Tom, and Charlen's great-niece, Amanda Campbell, for helping Charlen navigate the past several years and for their compassionate care in Charlen's final days. Rest in peace Sissy and Auntie Chico!