Elizabeth J. Blythe, devoted and beloved mother, died peacefully at home Saturday, May 4, 2019 surrounded by her three children. She was 87 and a 41-year resident of Brandon. Born June 3, 1931 to Joseph and Victoria Niznik in New Salem, Pa., she married Airman Paul Blythe in Washington, D.C. in 1955 and moved around the nation with him as he pursued his career in the Air Force and she hers in the federal civil service. In 1978, they moved to Brandon, where she worked at the Veterans Affairs Hospital and Social Security's Office of Hearings and Appeals in Tampa. She was a 50-year member of Beta Sigma Phi and a long-time writer of the "Let's Get Acquainted" column for the Brandon Newcomers Club. She also was known by friends and family for her soft sculptures and other craft works, volunteered as an elections worker and Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center usher, and liked to travel to foreign lands and play marathon bridge. She was predeceased by her husband of 54 years and is survived by children Paul Blythe Jr. of Palm Beach Gardens, Victoria Blythe Horvath of Lakeland and Douglas S. Blythe of Brandon. A viewing and memorial gathering will be held 6-8 p.m. Monday, May 13 at Serenity Meadows Funeral Home, 6919 Providence Road, Riverview, with eulogies to begin at 7 p.m. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 14 at Nativity Catholic Church in Brandon, and burial with her husband will follow at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Flowers will be accepted, or donations may be made in her name to LifePath Hospice, 3725 Upper Creek Drive, Ruskin, FL 33573. We deeply appreciate the continuous care provided by LifePath's Sapphire Team in her final hours.