Colonel (Retired) Donald “Don” Blascak (88) passed away quietly on December 10, 2022. His daughter and son were by his side at the time of his passing.

Don was born, August 19, 1934, in West Orange, New Jersey, where he attended West Orange High School. After high school, Don studied Agricultural Science at The Ohio State University. Upon graduation, he was commissioned into the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant on October 26, 1956 and served on Active Duty for 30 years, ultimately retiring as a Colonel on October 31, 1986. During his 30 years of service, Don served as: an Armor Officer; in the US Army Special Forces; with the Central Intelligence Agency; and in Military Intelligence. He commanded at every level from platoon through brigade. In addition to three tours in Vietnam, Don served overseas in Korea, Germany, and Panama. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Vietnam Service Medal and many more. He was inducted into the MI Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Don also received the Knowlton Award recognizing outstanding and continued service to the Military Intelligence community.

Early in his career he met and married Lila JoAnn Berry, of Fayetteville, NC. Together they travelled the world (home is where the Army sends you), and raised two children, daughter, Marlee and son, Marc.

Following a full career of service to the nation as an Army Officer, Don embarked on the next chapter of his life, giving to others and to his community. He was deeply involved in: the Stand Down for Homeless Veterans; the Festival of Hope; Hope Fest; the Tucson Planning Council for the Homeless, their Winter Shelter Committee, and their Discharge Planning Committee; and the Angel Tree program. Ever busy, Don sat on the boards of: Mission Tucson; Hope of Glory; Pima County Community Justice Board; Good News Newspaper; Interfaith Coalition for the Homeless; United Way – Supporting Senior – Compassion Capital Fund; the Tucson Coalition of Compassionate Care Ministries; and Compass Affordable Housing, Inc.. In support of the American Red Cross, he served in many coordinator positions, chairperson positions, and instructor for multiple courses. He also served as a Shelter Manager in support of the Rodeo Chedeski Fire and Hurricane Katrina response.

In addition to the military awards already mentioned, Don received the Robert Moore Award from Compass Health, and was recognized as Volunteer of the Year by Sun Sounds Radio Reading Service, and also as Volunteer of the Year by the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness.

Besides helping others, Don had two passions, dogs and military history. He gave countless hours of service to the Southern Arizona Greyhound Rescue. Don never met a greyhound he wouldn’t adopt and at his height had three greyhounds calling his house their home. Don was fascinated, some would say obsessed, with the study of the Battle of Gettysburg. Through the years, he visited the battlefield more than a dozen times, led small gatherings on battlefield tours there, and created a collection of Gettysburg books and memorabilia perhaps second only to the actual Gettysburg Museum.

He is preceded in death by his father, Stanley Joseph Blascak, his mother Ruth Godfrey Blascak, and his wife Lila JoAnn Berry Blascak. Don is survived by his daughter Marlee Blascak Marshall, her husband LTC (RET) Timothy J. Marshall, grandsons Weston Timothy Marshall (22) and Jeb Owen Marshall (20), all of Lansing, Kansas. And, his son Marc Weston Blascak of Tucson, Arizona.

A Celebration of a Life Well Lived is scheduled for December 19th, at 11:00am, at Grace Community Church, 9755 N. La Cholla Blvd, Tucson, AZ.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to “Compass Affordable Housing” at 48 N. Tucson Blvd. #102, Tucson, AZ 85716 or to www.compassaffordablehousing.org

Happy October! We hope that you are enjoying the cooler weather inArizona. We have been busier than ever at Compass Affordable Housing. So much so that we fell behind a bit with our newsletter, now slated for November and our Annual Program Data Report.

Please refer to https://compassaffordablehousing.org/impact/#Annual-Report on this website to view the report.

You will see in the report that we delivered over nine tons of food to low-income households living in CAH-owned properties and to people in the larger community. We call it Your Healthy Home Market (YHHM). This innovative program started several years ago at the urging of volunteers and staff wanting to find other ways to help people with fixed and little or no income afford to eat healthier, improve their diets and improve their health. There are no fees to tenants who shop for free. There has never been government funding or grants funding this effort.

We rely upon donations from people like you to help keep YHHM operating every year.

The market is set up and taken down at our apartment communities by tenant volunteers and then we deliver to local non-profits and shelters that serve women, families and youth. We also have our own gardens. One is at Alvord Court (photo above) and Downtown Motor Apartments. Both of those gardens provide fresh produce for tenants residing at each property.

The Market is an expansion of our Tenant Services program. It addresses the effects of food poverty by helping low-income households increase food security, access nutritious food, improve diets and learn about dietary habits that affect their wellbeing.

For questions about donating to Compass Affordable Housing, please call 520-627-1956.

Compass Affordable Housing has a comprehensive Tenant Services division that delivers much needed support at the properties we own. Among them is a project called “Your Healthy Home Market” (YHHM).

YHHM addresses the effects of food poverty experienced by the households we serve and those from the surrounding communities. It is a volunteer run market staffed by tenants and community members. The market enables low-income households to increase food security, access nutritious food, improve diets, and learn about dietary habits that affect their wellbeing. Three times each month Your Healthy Home Market delivers 600-1500 pounds of fresh food (each time) that includes proteins, vegetables, grains, fruits, breads, plants and herbs, and harvested produce from the Alvord Court Community Garden. Local partners provide educational sessions that range from learning about produce, budgeting for food, food and health, cooking techniques, etc. After the class tenants and community members “shop” for food at no cost to them.

The Market is supported by tenant volunteers, vegetables grown in the Alvord Court Community Garden, and collaborating partners such as Gap Ministries, the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension Program and professionals from the community. Community education sessions include information about the produce on hand, budgeting, food and health, and cooking techniques. Here are some pictures of our most recent Your Healthy Home Market being set up to serve our tenants at Tucson House and Glenstone. We love what we do at Compass Affordable Housing!

For questions about donating to Compass Affordable Housing, please call 520-627-1956.

On May 24th, Compass Affordable Housing hosted 19 women from Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica.

Sponsored by the University of Arizona’s Center for Latin American Studies these young women are enrolled through the Study of US Institutes (SUSI).

The SUSI grant for Indigenous and Afro-Descendent Women Leaders hosts 40 university student women leaders from Latin America every year. These young women are students of medicine, architecture, engineering, law, etc.

They were serenaded by a mariachi band of students from Tucson and spent the morning with us.

We discussed leadership, social services, poverty, food, housing issues in all of the countries and how activism can make a difference. It was an inspiring and heartwarming event for everyone.

Thank you SUSI for the opportunity!