Virginia Beach, VA  –  Alene Ruth Blomquist, 80, departed this life on January 31, 2026, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, after a brief illness.

She was the middle child of Olaf and Bea Blomquist and was raised in Iron Mountain, Michigan. Alene graduated from Iron Mountain High School where she was a member of the National Honor Society. Alene represented her hometown as Miss Iron Mountain-Kingsford in the 1963 Miss Michigan Pageant where she won the talent contest with her version of “Vissi D’Arte” from Puccini’s opera Tosca. Singing was her passion and her hobby. Alene could break into song at any moment to bring a smile to your face. She lived most of her adult life in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and sang in a variety of local musical and theater groups. She was a long-time member of The Comic Opera Guild and performed with the Ann Arbor Civic Theater, Saline Area Players, and Choral Connection among many other community theater groups in Washtenaw County. Alene was a long-time member of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor and was a missionary to Thailand for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America where she worked in Chaing Mai to destigmatize leprosy.

Alene received a Radiologic Technology certificate from Northern Michigan University and earned her undergraduate degree in psychology at Eastern Michigan University. When she was 47 years old, Alene started a new career path earning a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration where she won the Sonia G. Berz Honor Award given to a graduating Master’s degree student for outstanding work and promise in the field of aging. She spent the rest of her career as a LCSW working with the elderly, including 5 years with VITAS Hospice in Metro Chicago. Alene was the program director of the University of Michigan’s Turner Geriatric Clinic Elder Life volunteer program and won the University’s 2004 Volunteer Services Distinguished Service Award for staff. Alene retired from the University of Michigan in 2013 and spent her retirement caring for her mother who lived to 101 years. She moved to Virginia Beach in 2023 to be closer to her daughter, Stephanie, who was at her bedside when she passed.

Alene was predeceased by her parents and her daughter, Christina Lloyd. She is survived by her daughter, Stephanie Armstrong (Chris); her sisters, Dr. Margo Cousins (Steve) and Judy McIntosh; grandchildren, Cody and Ashleigh; nephews Scott, Cory, Pat and Nate, and niece Amanda; and many great-nieces and -nephews, cousins and friends.

A celebration of her life will take place in Iron Mountain later this year. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made to the Hospice Foundation of America or your local hospice organization in Alene’s memory.

Cremation Society of Virginia, Chesapeake Office, is assisting the family at their time of need. Friends and family may share online condolences and memories at www.vacremationsociety.com.