Obituary of Robert Blazis

BLAZIS- Robert A. Blazis, age 77 of Hamden, formerly of Ansonia, Washington DC and PA, died August 23, 2011 in his home following a sudden illness. Born in Nanticoke, PA on August 7, 1934, he was the son of the late Anthony and Emelia Gutowski Blazis. Mr. Blazis was a graduate of Assumption School, Ansonia High School and a 1957 Graduate of Yale University. Enlisting in the U.S. Army Reserves, Mr. Blazis served his active duty at Fort Dix, NJ. He later earned Master's Degrees from The University of Bridgeport, SCSU and Stanford University where he studied music history. In 1964 won the Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome, Italy to study the development of opera in seventeenth century Italy. He was a teacher at Derby High School, Bassett Junior High School, and Amity Regional High School. Mr. Blazis then worked as a librarian at the Hamden Public Library and the Sterling Memorial Library of Yale University. In 1973 he accepted a position at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC where he was employed as Editor of "Catalog of Music, Books on Music, and Sound Recordings." When the division closed, he transferred to the "Social Science Cataloging Division" from which he retired. He is survived by his sisters, Christine Miller and her husband, John of Oxford and Louise Sherman of Portland, OR; 6 nieces and nephews as well as 6 great nieces and nephews. A Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2011 at 10:00 AM in the Wakelee Memorial Funeral Home, 167 Wakelee Ave., Ansonia. Interment will follow in Mount St. Peter Cemetery, Derby. Family and friends may call on Saturday morning from 9:00 to 10:00 AM. Memorial contributions may be made to the Ansonia Public Library, 53 South Cliff St., Ansonia, CT 06401 or to a charity of one's choice. On line condolences may be made at www.wakeleememorial.com.