Boon-Nam Blackwell MD. On June 24, 2014, peacefully at the Casey House Hospice in Rockville, Md. with family present. Boon-Nam (Sarojaman) Blackwell of Potomac, Md. was born in Bangkok, Thailand in 1926. She graduated from Chulalongkorn University Medical School in 1949, where she also taught. She later worked as a researcher at NAMRU-2 in Taipei, Taiwan. Returning to school in 1975, she was licensed as a clinical pathologist, working first at Fort Detrick, Md., and then at the National Center for Toxicological Research in Pine Bluff, Ark. As a researcher she published several peer-reviewed articles at NAMRU and at the NCTR. Boon-Nam was a great mother and friend, a talented cook who threw great parties, and a devoted gardener who volunteered for years as a Master Gardener in Little Rock. Family and friends will remember her as strong, smart, funny, and wise.
Beloved wife for 45 years of Dr. R. Quentin Blackwell who preceded her in death; devoted mother of Pundit Vanikieti, Namela (Blackwell) Miller, and Richard Boon Blackwell; step-mother of Richard Quentin Blackwell Jr. and Mary Frances Blackwell. Other survivors include sisters, Noi Sarojaman, and Pramad Sarojaman; niece Aht Huey; grandchildren, Hilary McLean, Frank Miller, Susan Miller-Park, Teerin and Kevin Vanikieti, and Sarah Blackwell; great-grandchildren, Sofia and Max Pagliughi; son-in-law, Frank Miller; and daughters-in-law, Linda Christianson and Barbara Blackwell.
Prayer services are scheduled at the Wat Thai DC. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the Everly-Wheatley funeral home, 1500 West Braddock St., Alexandria, Va. on Saturday, July 5th at 5:30 p.m. for visitation, and Sunday, July 6th at 1:30 p.m. for a funeral ceremony. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Wat Thai DC (Silver Spring), Montgomery Hospice Casey House, or the National Kidney Foundation.

Published July 1, 2014