Sonya Blank Salamon

Sonya Blank Salamon, 85, of Santa Fe, NM passed away peacefully after a short illness on August 16, 2025.

Sonya was born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1939 to Ethel Snider and Marcus Blank. Sonya attended the University of Pittsburgh Experimental School and Allderdice High School before earning a BFA from Carnegie Institute of Technology, an MA in Anthropology from the University of California-Berkeley and a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she was subsequently a faculty member from 1974 – 2006. In her work researching Midwestern families, Sonya wrote 3 books and over 70 book chapters and journal articles and was awarded numerous academic honors.

Sonya is survived by her husband Myron, sons David and Aaron (Stacey) and granddaughters Lina and Bryn, sisters Gail (Alan) Koss, Carla (Ishmael) Blank, and Judith Blank, and numerous beloved family and friends.

Donations may be made in her name to the Lymphoma Research Foundation and the American Indian College Fund.