Bahá’í World/Volume 18/Cecilia King Blake
Cecilia King Blake
CECILIA KING BLAKE
1911-1980
On 25 February 1911 a privileged soul, Cecilia King Blake, came into the world. She embraced the Bahá’í Faith on 20 October 1957 in Panama and almost immediately arose to serve as a pioneer in the Chitré zone where she gave her services with great dedication and efficiency. In the closing years of the Ten Year Crusade there was an urgent appeal for pioneers to Nicaragua. In the period between May 1960 and April 1961 a contingent of pioneers arrived, including Cecilia. She had been on the front lines in the teaching field for more than a decade in Panama and on several occasions served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Her activities in Nicaragua were described in the Panama Bahá’í Bulletin of July 1980: ‘A Panamanian pioneer of great enthusiasm and joy, she arose to serve at fifty years of age, leaving Panama to offer her valuable services in Nicaragua and help in the formation of the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Bluefields, a very important factor in making possible the simultaneous election, in the memorable year 1961, of all the National Spiritual Assemblies of Latin America. From the moment she arrived at her pioneer post, “Miss Cecilia”, as she was affectionately called by the local people whose confidence, love and esteem she immediately won, began to work for the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, opening up every type of activity, including children’s classes, literacy classes and firesides. She made long—distance, hazardous teaching hips to inhospitable places all along the Nicaraguan coast, carrying high the banner of the Most Great Name and proclaiming the healing message of the Bahá’í Faith in mountainous and rural areas.’
It is difficult to describe the wonderful work she carried out in the Department of Zelaya, Nicaragua. There she worked expanding the foundation of the Faith, deepening the believers and consolidating communities which were separated, in some instances, by distances of more than a day’s journey over rivers, through jungles and along coastal beaches. The task was difficult but her spirit was indomitable in the service of the Cause. By great economic sacrifice she purchased in Rio Escondido a considerable piece of fertile land—a veritable paradise whose silence is broken only by the lapping of the sea waves—and donated it to the National Spiritual Assembly of Nicaragua with the hope that it would in future be the site of a permanent Bahá’í Institute.
In spite of her health, which was weakened by the difficulties of climate and food and her exhausting work among the indigenous people whom she loved dearly, Cecilia was always ready not only to teach the Bahá’í Faith but to defend it, even at the cost of her own life if circumstances should demand it. Her hand was always extended to assist the sick, protect the helpless and share her meagre bread with the hungry. She saw all the indigenous people as her children and at any moment would have given her life for them. Her heart was so large
and generous that it almost would not fit in her chest. So exhausting were the conditions under which she laboured that her health broke down under the strain. One day we received her at the airport in Managua in a very serious condition and practically unconscious. It took two months for her to recover from that illness, and as soon as she regained a little strength, in spite of our pleas that she take a rest, she returned to her pioneer post because, she said, her indigenous friends needed her.
During the 1970s Cecilia settled in Costa Rica and continued teaching the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh with the same enthusiasm and dedication as before, in spite of age and broken health. Even from her sick-bed during her last days in this world she continued spreading the divine fragrances.
The Bahá’ís of three countries—Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica—grieved at her passing on 27 June 1980, because upon the believers in those lands she had lavished the intense love of her great heart. DEPLORE LOSS OUR BELOVED SISTER COWORKER CECILIA WHOSE EXTENSIVE SACRIFICES GREATLY AIDED THE FIRM ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH IN THE PACIFIC AND ATLANTIC REGIONS OF NICARAGUA, cabled the friends in Nicaragua. MAY THE BLESSED BEAUTY LOVINGLY PROTECT HER FOREVER.
A consolatory message from the Universal House of Justice was cabled on 1 August 1980:
SADDENED LEARN FROM YOUR BULLETIN PASSING CECILIA KING BLAKE. HER SELFLESS PIONEER SERVICE BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD ADDS LUSTRE ANNALS FAITH COSTA RICA AND PROVIDES STERLING EXAMPLE HER COUNTRYMEN. PRAYING HOLY THRESHOLD PROGRESS HER SOUL KINGDOMS GOD.
The funeral was held in accordance with Bahá’í laws and was conducted with great dignity. The attendance was very large. Her grave was literally covered with flowers. Cecilia King Blake is in the Abhá Kingdom and from there she sends us her loving and kind smile.
(Translated from the Spanish by BARBARA BARRETT)