JOHN MORGAN BLANKUSH
A lifelong educator, 54, of Bloomington, Minn.

A lifelong educator, 54, of Bloomington, Minn., passed away due to ALS (Lou Gehrig 's Disease) Jan. 22, 2009.
John is survived by wife, Jan; son, Joe (fiancée Johanna Harvey); daughter, Jess (fiancé Mark Theisen); grandson, Eli John Blankush Theisen; sisters Mary Kay (James) Brown, Peg (William) Sweeney, and Rose (Jacob) Zimmerman; "brother", Tom Thatcher; together with relatives; "the gang"; students and many friends.
FUNERAL SERVICE: 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, in First Memorial Funeral Chapel, 7110 France Ave. S, Edina, MN. Visitation 30 minutes prior to service. Contributions to the John Blankush Memorial Music Scholarship to benefit students at Denfeld High School in Duluth, should be directed to the family. First Memorial Funeral Chapel (952) 924-4900.