Maria Reyes Bly

Maria Elena Reyes-Bly, 70, passed away on Saturday, January 4, 2025 surrounded by her loving family. Maria was born to the late Cesar and Elena (Villareal) Reyes in Ilo Ilo city, Philippines on March 2, 1954.

Maria was passionate about people and prayer. She loved sharing her faith in God, and was a mighty prayer warrior. We know she is rejoicing with her Savior in heaven today! Maria exuded the Joy of the Lord, and shared that with everyone around her. While not liking to be the center of attention, Maria’s personality made that difficult as people were drawn to her kind and caring spirit. Moving from New York to Tennessee, Maria settled with her family in Delaware. Her caring nature was most evident in the love she had for her family, especially her grandchildren.

In her professional career, Maria was an asset in many different offices in the United Nations. Her travels found her on extended missions in many countries over the years, including Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia, Liberia, Hong Kong and Switzerland. She enjoyed learning about the language and cultures of the places she travelled to, and it gave her a great way to connect with other people. Being able to travel both in her personal and professional life, brought many beautiful friends into her life.

In 2023, Maria became a United States Citizen in a beautiful ceremony in Nashville, TN. One of her goals was to be able to vote in a presidential election, which she proudly did alongside her son, Ryan & family, in November 2024. She took great pride in being able to exercise this right!

In addition to her parents, Maria is preceded in death by her sister & best friend, Melba Talbot.

She will be greatly missed by her husband of 42 years; William J. Bly, son; Ryan Bly & wife Jill, grandchildren; Henry, Luke, Margaret, Charles, and brother Ramon Reyes & wife Diane. Maria leaves behind a large extended family including nieces Nicole, Vanessa, Victoria, and Olivia; and nephews Johnathan, Adam, Brandon, and Cody. Her legacy of love and joy will continue to live on through each one.

A service celebrating the life of Maria Elena Reyes-Bly will be held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at Crossroad Community Church located at 20684 State Forest Rd, Georgetown, DE 19947. A time of visitation will be held before the service from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Services in the care of Short Funeral Services, Georgetown.