It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Genevieve G. Blaha, on July 11, 2023 at St. Joseph Hospital.

Jenny was born on July 26, 1944 in Chicora, Pennsylvania to the late Frank Young and Anna Hockenberry Young. She grew up on a farm in Chicora and was the youngest of their eight daughters and had four brothers. Mom served her country proudly from 1963-1965 as a switchboard operator in the U.S. Air Force, where she met her first husband, Jerry Adams. She and Jerry married in 1965 and settled in Winston Salem, North Carolina where they had their first daughter, Tammy, in 1966. The family traveled with the military and had their second daughter, Karen, in Newfoundland, Canada in 1967.

Jenny moved back to North Carolina, then to Oahu, HI, and eventually to Fortuna, CA for Jerry’s job out at Centerville Beach Naval Facility in 1972. They later divorced but remained good friends.

Jenny remarried in 1974 to Elmer Blaha. The following year she was in a serious car accident and ended up having Humboldt County’s first open-heart surgery. Jenny did make a full recovery and her and Elmer owned and operated several businesses, including The Spot – a bar and pizza parlor on Main Street. They were married until Elmer’s passing in 1987.

She worked for several years at Bayley Suit and Redwood Memorial Hospital and made many good friends along the way. Jenny met Tony Castro in 1990. He was a wonderful man, and they enjoyed nearly 30 years together before he passed in 2019. Most of their greatest memories were built around their grandkids – attending their sports events, camping, fishing, and riding ATV’s at Orick, Table Bluff, or Ruth Lake.

Jenny loved flowers, arts and crafts, sewing, eating dinner at Las Cazuelas on Friday nights, and going to coffee on Saturdays (we did this every week for more than 15 years). She was an avid Golden State Warriors fan. She enjoyed horse races, her family, and liked having her nails done by her granddaughter, Taron. Jenny spent many years decorating cakes and cookies. When the kids were young, she made all of their birthday cakes and threw the best birthday parties ever. Later, decorating cookies for the holidays was a tradition and she baked cookies, made frosting, and set up tables for family and friends to stop by and decorate their own.

Jenny is survived by her daughters Tammy (Ron) Brown and Karen Wallace, grandchildren Taron Brown, Jayce Brown, and Cheyenne Wallace, and first husband Jerry Adams. She is also survived by sisters Alice Mae Fontaine and Helen (Jesse) Raabe, brothers James (Mary Ann) Young, Thomas (Sherry) Young, and Rodger (Patti) Young; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents Frank and Anna Young, husband Elmer Blaha, loving companion Tony Castro, sisters Gertrude Landgraf, Caroline DeLair, Ruth Kelly, Rose Miller, Mary Louise O’Donnell, and brother Edward Young.

Jenny leaves behind numerous other special people in her life including John Castro, John Castro Jr., Joni Castro, Mindy Estes, and Marcia Norton. Thank you all for being so wonderful to her. May her memory remain forever in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.

Burial will be private at Jenny’s request. Interment will be in Sunrise Cemetery. Arrangements are entrusted to Goble’s Fortuna Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in Jenny’s name to CASA of Humboldt at 2356 Myrtle Avenue, Eureka, CA 95501 – or a charity of your choice.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Jenny’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.