Mrs. Annette L. Blake

June 26, 1931 - December 28, 2015

SCOTIA - Annette Laura Cuomo-Blake, 84, passed away on Monday, December 28, 2015 at Ellis Hospital after a brief illness. Annette was born and educated in Schenectady a daughter of the late Joseph and Mary (Padricelli) Cuomo. She graduated high school and received a BA in criminal justice. She was devoted to her family and was known as a second mother to many troubled young boys who called her "Ma Blake". She was a devoted wife to her husband Otis Lee Blake Sr. for over 30 years. She was a loving mother and a faithful friend to all who knew her. Before becoming ill, she was a communicant of St. Paul's Church where her mother Mary Padricelli Cuomo was on the healing ministry and was a Eucharistic minister. As a hobby, she enjoyed playing bingo very much. Annette was predeceased by her husband, Otis Blake, Sr. in 1984 and her daughters, Kathy Blake and Anita Marie Blake. She is survived by her loving children; Terry Upshur (Chris), of Schenectady, Otis Blake III (Tina), of CA, Toniann Blake Hughes (Dwight), and twins, Michael Blake (Dana) of Scotia and Michele Blake, of Schenectady; 18 grand children and 18 great-grandchildren. Services will be held on Thursday at 10 am at the Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, 501 Union Street with Fr. John Facci, officiating. Burial will follow in St. John the Baptist Cemetery. Relatives and friends are invited and may call at the funeral home from 8 am until the service. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In loving memory of our mother Annette Laura Cuomo Blake Mom, some of us were not able to be with you, at the time of your passing, into eternity, into the arms of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but all of us are able to share with you, in our hearts, just how grateful we were to have you as our mother and as grandmother, all of these years. Seemingly, we all, in some way or another, took your presence in this world for granted, as though you would always be here . Even still, our strength comes from the "Joy of the Lord" Nehemiah 8:10 The One who gave us great hope during your illness, that no matter when you left us, that we would be reunited with you again, some glorious day. If it had not been for our Lord, we would have been, truly, without hope of ever seeing you again, and we would not know where you really had gone, being no longer in this life. We would have been tormented by thoughts of whether you were safe or not, but because of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we are certain of where you are now, and we are able to rejoice with you, because of Him. We know you are in heaven with our heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When it appeared that you were unable to know things any longer, because of your illness, we prayed the prayer of faith according to God's Word concerning our heavy hearts burdened for the saving of your soul. We were given by the Holy Spirit James 5 The Prayer of Faith 13 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. We believe that Father God answered our prayer of faith for you and had mercy on your soul. We did this before Him, so as to be sure you would be unafraid in your unstable condition. He was faithful and gave us a sign by giving you a window of time to be awake one night just before you left us. He allowed you to be alert in your repentance and in forgiving all those who have sinned against you in this life, and He allowed a time of praise & worship with Him just before you went home to be with Him. We rejoice, also, in that, He gave us yet another sign, as you left us, appearing to have a smile on your face, indicating to us that you were in no pain and unafraid of leaving this life, as it were, at your passing, we witnessed, on your face, the appearance of peace that passes all our understanding. We thank God that we know for sure in our heart of hearts that you are with Him now, in no more pain, no more suffering. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving our mom and assuring us that those of us in this family who faithfully live truly for You will most assuredly one day see her again!