M. Elizabeth Cornell, known as Liz, Noggie or Mrs. Cornell to her many Oak Bluffs Elementary students, died quietly August 18 in Pittsburgh, Pa. with her daughters by her side.

Born Mary Elizabeth to John and Elizabeth Mary (Betty) Dietrich in central Ohio on Dec. 10, 1933. She was third in a line of seven siblings and the eldest daughter.

Upon graduating from high school, she enrolled at the University of Houston. Living in the city with one of her father’s sisters, she worked at Sakowitz Department Store on the sales floor and did a bit of modeling. She had her own show on KUHF-FM, one of the first university radio license holders in the country.

She served as President of the Hiram College Chapter of the League of Women Voters and finally at the age of 40 took herself back to college full-time, graduating Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in education with a minor in art from Muskingum College.

With her degree in hand, she made a significant departure, leaving Ohio for New Hampshire with her new partner in life, artist William Blakesley. She landed her first teaching position in White River Junction, Vt. in 1975, was recognized as an Outstanding Teacher by the University of Vermont in 1984 and wrote her letter of resignation in June 1988 to accept a position at Oak Bluffs Elementary School on Martha’s Vineyard, where she and Bill set-up residence year-round.

Bill had long-owned a studio at 4 Montgomery Square, an historic grocery affectionately named the “hump backed whale” on the edge of the Campground Meeting Association in Oak Bluffs. Liz was a beloved first grade teacher, though she also taught art, second, third and fourth grade but none of these for more than three years during her 30-year career. It was common knowledge how lucky kids were to be in such a stimulating jump-roping, chess-playing, worm-farming environment where kids wrote at length daily.

Her research on the use of poetry and the teaching of reading and writing was included in a 1987 compilation published by Heinemann Press. From 1991 to 2000, she wrote for, helped manage and edit eight editions of Refocus, an all-Island annual education journal that she was instrumental in starting. In 1982, as an outgrowth of her teaching, she wrote and self-published Jump Rope Rhymes for Vineyard Kids illustrated by Bill.

Liz is predeceased by her parents, four brothers, first husband Robert Cornell and her second husband William Blakesley. She is survived by Dr. Lelona (Paul) Carey, Anne Cornell (David Kridler), Adda Kridler (Michael Caterisano), Ellen McGinnis (Tom), Laura Carey (Mike Green), Emily Bell (Jared), Sarah Carroll (Tom), Elizabeth Carey (Josh Studle), Susan Kridler (Pierre Manigault); and her 13 great-grandchildren, Franklin, Rose, Martin, Vivian, Maeve, Connor, Ronan, Maggie, Dorothy, Francis, Zachary and the twins Joseph and Jude.

The family asks that memorial gifts be made in Liz/Mrs. Cornell’s name to the Library at Oak Bluffs Elementary School, PO Box 1325 Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.