Neota "Nikki" Hatfield Blandton

SCOTTSDALE — Former Casa Grande resident Neota “Nikki” Hatfield Blanton, 83, of Scottsdale died Feb. 24, 2010 at Sunrise Assisted Living.
Her life will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Thursday at J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens Chapel in Casa Grande.
Mrs. Blanton was born July 17, 1926 in Elk City, Okla., to Fred Stanley Williams and Waltrena Williams. She graduated from high school in Oklahoma City, Okla., and attended the University of Oklahoma, where she met and married her husband of 36 years, Eldon Braxton Hatfield. They had two sons, Jim and Steve. Mrs. Blanton spent most of the first decade of their marriage raising their children alone while her husband, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, served eight years of active duty, including during the Korean War. She was a finalist in the “Mrs. Oklahoma” contest in her 30s. Her love of music and singing included performing with popular big bands during and after the war and later with women’s choral groups who competed nationally.
She and Eldon left their home in Chicago in 1971 to join their son Jim in Casa Grande, spoil their grandchildren and start Hatfield Interiors, which provided interior design and installation services to the community for 20 years.
Nikki performed her last pubic appearance at age 78 doing a comedy monologue as Irmatrude Gubercheck on stage in Sierra Vista. Her humor, grace and loving spirit are deeply missed. Family members said Alzheimer’s may have ended her life, but her joy, compassion and spirit captured a permanent place in the hearts of all who knew her.
She is survived by her husband, Gerald Blanton of Scottsdale; one son, Jim Hatfield of Scottsdale; one sister, Jeanette Nixon Devenport of Dallas, Texas; two grandsons and one great-granddaughter. She was preceded in death by her former husband, Eldon Hatfield, and son Steven Hatfield.
Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America in lieu of flowers.