Blatz, Mary

Mary Frances Blatz, age 73, passed away to her eternal rest on July 19th, 2024. Mary was born on July 6, 1951, to Joan and Rudolf Blatz in Manhattan, New York City. She had a lively childhood as the oldest of 6 siblings. The family moved from New York City’s booming Queens borough to the leafy suburbs of Berkeley Heights, to the bucolic countryside
of Colts Neck, New Jersey. Her school years included St. Margaret’s in Queens, St. Vincent’s in Sterling, New Jersey, Red Bank Catholic, and Monmouth College where she studied German and Russian and enjoyed the nearby beach. She escaped to Stowe, Vermont for a year of soul searching before returning to Monmouth College to complete her BA degree. After a few years without church she came back to her faith strongly and received a scholarship to study pastoral ministry for two years in French at Lumen Vitae of Leuven University in Brussels, Belgium. After returning from Europe, she worked for Brookdale Community College where she taught ESL as part of a refugee resettlement program. Soon she found herself in Hong Kong working with the “boat people ” who were trying to find a safe harbor after the devastation of the Vietnam War. This year was followed by a second year of refugee work in Galang, Indonesia for the UNHCR as the head teacher on the island. She soon was back in the US earning a Master’s in International Education from Columbia University. After requests from the former Bishop of Cambodia who was a fellow refugee worker, she agreed to travel to Long Beach, California, to lead the Catholic Cambodia Center as a lay
missionary. She spent well over 20 years developing a ministry to the large and troubled Cambodian population in this beautiful, multicultural California beach city. Mary was a skilled negotiator, grant writer and counselor. She was a strong advocate on behalf of her refugee community both in legal and political arenas. Her empathy for refugees and
recent immigrants was proven over and over again as she worked with people in desperate circumstances to help and to heal. As the Catholic Cambodian Center came to its end, she met her soulmate and soon-to-be husband, Bunrith Ngin. They had a number of happy years together moving to Kingsburg, California. Here they pursued their dream of a farm using Bunrith’s skills and education in agriculture, while still active with the many friends of Mt. Carmel Catholic Cambodian Center. Mary was predeceased by her parents, Rudolph and Joan Blatz. She leaves behind her husband,
Bunrith Ngin. She is also survived by her siblings, Anne Blatz and Eric Paul, Teresa and Tom Loy, Cathy and John Blackburn, Joseph Blatz and Paul Blatz, along with her niece, Elizabeth Chapman, and nephews Brent Chapman, James Chapman and Phillip Chapman, as well as her many friends from all the many eras of her special life. Donations on behalf of Mary Blatz should be sent to Catholic Charities of Los Angeles, INC., 1531 James M. Wood Blvd. P. O. Box 15095, Los Angeles, California, 90015 Memorial services will be held in Long Beach, California and Farmington, New York at a later date. Terzich & Wilson Cremation-Funeral Home entrusted with Cremation arrangements.