Remembrance of a Neighbor: 62-Year Fair Havenite, Iris Bluford, 99

“Her love, guidance and life lessons taught have made us better people.
Her generosity has been felt by all …
We all now have another
angel watching over us.”
Loved ones of Iris Bluford in her obituary

Another forever Fair Haven neighbor, an angel among neighbors to many, has passed, leaving behind a rich legacy of grace and love of home with heart. Iris Bluford, who lived on Parker Avenue since 1959, passed away peacefully at her home on April 2, Good Friday evening. She was 99, just a couple months shy of her 100th birthday.

Known as “kind, generous and loving” neighbors, the Blufords lived for more than half a century in the beautifully manicured home on a corner spot of the block. While the couple had no children to join in the neighborhood dodge ball and hop scotch clan, everyone knew that their home was a welcoming place. Kids selling scout cookies, popcorn and peanut brittle, pumping school fundraisers, trying to peddle encyclopedias, magazines, newspapers were always sure to be met with a smile and plentiful purchase from the Blufords. They were a testament to the “Here stays the neighborhood” mindset.

And stay they did — for 62 years. I was one of those kids. I remember the couple’s welcoming smiles. I remember their generous spirits that just seemed to emanate an aura from the house. I remember their beautifully manicured hedges, the blue shutters. I remember their quiet, modest, unassuming love of home and the street where they lived.

I also remember thinking many times, as I passed by in a rush, that I should stop, say “Hello” and see how Mrs. Bluford was doing, us being neighbors for more than five decades and all.

It would have been a simple visit — a visit in which I would have told her how I always admired her beautifully coiffed lawn and knowing that a little Girl Scout or Brownie cookie push would be met with a smile and a goal-breaking buy. How I felt safe in my neighborhood seeing people like her and her husband smile at passersby as they clipped that hedge, never screaming “Get off my lawn!” or one-upping with unsolicited rants about who deserves to live on their street more.

I would have told her of the unspoken respect I and my family had for her as a longtime neighbor, never even really knowing her well. How people like her, with all their love of home and the block, made this little town all the more special without fanfare, without the biggest house or the highest real estate ticket. It’s called community. I would have. I should have told her how I felt that respecting who built the neighborhood with their behind-the-scenes souls was so important. It’s an often unspoken legacy that counts.

So, thank you Mrs. Bluford for being that neighbor. If you have a Mrs. Bluford. Take the time to stop and have that chat. Listen up, neighborhood angel. You were appreciated. Here you stay … always on your corner, your home, our home. Where the heart beats its strongest, making us all better people, better neighbors by example.

More about Iris Bluford from her obituary prepared by family …

Service for Iris Bluford
Photo/Horner Williams

Born June 19, 1921, to Lillian and George Powell in Manhattan NY, Iris was laid to rest on Wednesday, April 14, at Monmouth Memorial Park in Tinton Falls.

Educated in the New York City Public School system, Iris graduated from Wadleigh High School. Later in life, she received an associate’s degree from Brookdale Community College. She was employed in the accounting department of the U.S. Post Office until her retirement.

On April 15, 1950, Iris married Benjamin Bluford. The couple first lived in Red Bank. They moved to Fair Haven in 1959 and lived there for for nearly 62 years.

“No children born of this union, they both embraced many cousins, nieces and nephews as their own,” along with neighborhood children, the family said.

After the death of her husband Benjamin, Iris became actively involved at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Red Bank. Fr. Rosheuvel’s mom had become her “new partner” in service. She was entrusted with counting the weekly collection and was a member of the Vestry, St. Monica’s Guild and the Daughters of the King.

“Oh, how she’d talk about serving in the kitchen during her birthday month,” her family said. “Iris was known for her love of shopping, especially for shoes. Proud to be a very independent, healthy person, she remained so until the age of 96. Even when it was determined that she needed assistance, she made sure to keep everyone informed that she was still in charge.”

Iris is predeceased by: her husband, Benjamin; brothers George and Irving Powell; and niece, Nina Powell.

She is survived by many cousins, nieces, nephews, geat and great-great nieces and nephews; and her St. Thomas Church family.

“She will truly be missed.”