Silverius John Blonigen ,”Sil”, Retired Wilmington Fire Department Lieutenant, of Wilmington, passed away on May 1, 2020; he was 86 years of age.
Sil was born February 23, 1934, in St. Martin, Minnesota; he was the dear son of the late Mathias and Veronica (Mayers) Blonigen. Sil grew up in a small farming community in central Minnesota and was one of seven siblings.
Sil enlisted in the Army in 1956; while serving overseas, he began exchanging letters with a young woman from Wilmington, MA, Margaret (Penny) McCabe. Those letters turned into a love story that would last over 60 years; Sil and Penny celebrated their 61st anniversary one month ago on April 4th.
After they were married, Sil and Penny moved out to Minnesota on one of the Blonigen family farms. After a few years, they moved back to the east coast and settled in Wilmington. There they built a home and raised six children. Family was the most important thing to Sil, he loved and cherished his children, then his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Outside of his family, Sil’s greatest pride was becoming a lieutenant in the Wilmington Fire Department. Sil will always be remembered as a man who could fix anything with nothing. He was constantly at one of his children’s homes, working on some type of home improvement project.
Sil and Penny loved to travel. Summers were spent driving out to Minnesota in their station wagon with all 6 kids. Later on, they took trips to Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Hawaii. They went on several cruises; a favorite was Alaska.
Sil was the beloved husband of Margaret “Penny” (McCabe) Blonigen; devoted father of Marlene Moran and her late husband Jack of Wilmington, Robert Blonigen and his wife Brenda of Newington, NH, Veronica (Bonnie) DiOrio and her husband Chris of Wilmington, Diane Consigli and her husband David of Medway, Elaine MacKinnon and her husband Dan of Wilmington, and Gary Blonigen and his wife Melanie of Wilmington. Sil was the loving grandfather of Matt Blonigen and his wife Rachel, Jaclyn McGowan and her husband James, Dean Moran, Daniel and Justin MacKinnon, Lisamarie and CJ DiOrio, David Consigli and his wife Carly, Brianna, Nicole and Anthony Consigli, Marissa, Kayla and Zachary Blonigen, the late Michael and Ashley Blonigen and his great-grandsons Mathias and David Blonigen and Declan McGowan (due June 2020). He was the dear brother of Clarence Blonigen and his wife Annella, Dolores Pundsack, Tillie Bussman and her husband Bernard, the late Raymond Blonigen, Leander Blonigen and Bernadine Jacobson. Sil was the brother-in-law of Darleen Blonigen, Annette Blonigen, Will Murphy, Patricia McCabe and Nancy Murphy. Sil is further survived by many nieces, nephews and friends.
Due to the current situation of the Coronavirus and for everyone’s safety, the Blonigen family will hold private services at this time. A celebration of Sil’s life will be held at a later date; please follow our website for updated information at www.nicholsfuneralhome.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Sil’s memory may be made to the Town of Wilmington, please put in the memo line Wilmington Fire Dept. and mail to Wilmington Fire Department, Attn: Chief Cavanaugh, 1 Adelaide St., Wilmington, MA 01887 or to Local Heroes, Inc., P. O. Box 536, Wilmington, MA 01887.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Nichols Funeral Home, Wilmington, MA.
So sorry to hear of Sil’s passing. My Aunt just passed away a few days ago at Care One from the virus. The Fuller Famly
Penny & Family So sorry for your loss especially at this time Sending prayers for strength these next few weeks God Bless you all
Blonigen family my thoughts and prayers are with you all. He truly was a great man.
Sorry for your loss Bless Everyone. Sil’s RIP????
We are so sorry for your loss. Not only was Sil a great fire fighter; he was also an excellent carpenter. Jim worked with Sil when Sil was doing carpentry work and Jim was doing electrical work many years ago. We had Sil do some carpentry work at our home and he also did work at Ruth’s home. We enjoyed stopping by to say hello to Sil while he was in Care One when we would visit Ruth. He will truly be missed. Our love and prayers go out to your family at this very difficult time.
Rest in peace Uncle Sil… Love you…
Sorry for your heartache. Treasure your many happy memories. Love and prayers for you all.
My prayers are with each and everyone of you. Penny I can’t imagine your loss. May God be with y’all through this very hard time.
Simply stated , they don’t come any better than Sil… will always treasure the yearly jaunts to Florida in the 70’s with Les and Ellen Smith, and Penny and Sil, visiting Jackie Burke and his family, taking in the sites…a more dedicated and honest guy as you’ll ever meet…sincere condolences to the family… you left this world better than you found it Sil… mission accomplished….!!!
Words are hard to find. Just wanted to express my condolences to all of you. Syl was one of the good ones. I wish I could do this in person to tell you that there wasn’t a better man to grow up next door to. He had so many exceptional qualities that we all should strive to have. My thoughts are with all of you. May he Rest In Peace.
Bob, Brenda and family;
So sorry to hear of his passing. Thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Bob, so sorry to hear about your loss. My deepest condolences go out to you and your family.
Dear Penny and Family, I am so sorry for your loss. Sil was so kind and sweet to all who knew him. We all had a wonderful time visiting as neighbors and enjoying being together with our group and many laughs along the way. My prayers are for all of you at this most difficult time. Hugs to all! RIP Sil.
I have fond memories of Sil. He was alway thoughtful and willing to spend time with anyone. He was a true “gentle-man”. I know he will be missed by us all. Thinking of all of my cousins.
Love Terry & Kerri Walsh
Bob and Family,
So sorry to hear of the loss of your Dad. I’m sure he was a great man, serving his country, and then his local community. And he was obviously a wonderful family man. I’m sure he will be missed. My condolences to you and your family.
I am sorry to hear of Sils passing. Good man,husband and father. May he rest in peace
Dear Diane and Family,
May fond memories of your father bring you comfort during this hard time in your life. My heart and prayers go out to you and your family.
Eve
To the Blonigen Family, our sincere condolences with the passing of Mr. Blonigen. May all the wonderful memories of the past with him be a source of healing during this time of sorrow.
Dear Diane and family,
In times of loss and sadness, let the memories of your wonderful father bring you comfort. I am sure he was a truly special man.
Dear Diane and family,
Passing along my sympathies at this most difficult time. It seems a great legacy of love is left behind and will surely be missed by all.
Wishing you peace.
He sounds like an extraordinary man. Our condolences to the whole family. God bless.
Deepest sympathy to the entire Blonigen family. The loss of a spouse, parent, grandparent, great grandparent is hard. Prayers that God is with you all putting his arms of protection, love, and comfort around you in your time of sorrow.
Bob and the rest of the Blonigen family,
I’m so sorry for your loss. My you take comfort in the fond memory’s you have of him and times you were all together.
Jim Martin
Sil a great guy and a man of all trades. Always a pleasant to be around. A great family man who loved that family more then anything else in this world. Sil you will be missed. RIP
Dicky & Pauline
Dear Penny and Family, we are deeply sorry for your loss. I wish we could be there to give hugs and support. Please know we love you all and are thinking of you. God Bless you all! RIP Mr. B.!
Laurie & Chris
XOXO
Penny and family – I am there with you in spirit. I loved Sil and I love your family. My thoughts and prayers are with each and everyone of you. May God’s grace see you through this difficult time. You were blessed to have such a wonderful man in your life. Love you all dearly.
Elaine, I’m so sorry to hear of the passing of your father. My heart goes out to you and your family. Praying you find strength during this very difficult time.
Dear Blonigan family,
I just want to say I am sorry for your loss! I know almost the whole family from my Harvest Gift Shop days!
You are a terrific family.
My prayers,
Mary Alice
Mr. Blonigan was such a sweet man with a wonderful family. Our sincerest condolences to the entire family. Hugs to everyone.
Penny, I am so sorry for your loss. Sil was a good man. You and your beautiful family are in my thoughts and prayers.
God Bless
Dear Penny and family, So sorry to hear of your loss.