A Whitefish mother of three has been named Montana’s Mother of the Year.

Corinne Bludworth, 46, earned the title from American Mothers, a national organization that has been honoring mothers since it was founded in 1935 by Sara Delano Roosevelt, Mamie Eisenhower, J.C. Penney and Norman Vincent Peale.

She will compete for the national title in April at a conference in Washington, D.C.

It’s the second time in two years that a Flathead Valley mother has won the state Mother of the Year award. Last year’s Montana winner, Sabrina Wisher of Kalispell, nominated Bludworth for the award after the two met last year.

Bludworth’s 25-year-old daughter, Jordan, has Down syndrome. When Jordan’s adult tricycle was stolen from the family’s backyard, it was Wisher’s Mikayla’s Miracles and Blessings Foundation that supplied a new tricycle for Bludworth’s daughter.

The foundation is named after Wisher’s daughter, Mikayla, who has a rare genetic disorder called Aicardi syndrome.

Bludworth, a Shelby native, put together a Buddy Walk for Down syndrome two years ago that has become an annual event in the Flathead Valley during October, national Down Syndrome Awareness Month.

The Buddy Walk is a national event that brings awareness to the genetic chromosomal disorder.

She also wants to create a local support group for parents of children with Down syndrome. When Bludworth and her family lived in Tennessee, she worked for Progressive Directions, a demanding but rewarding job that allowed her to work with severely disabled adults.

Bludworth and her husband, Donald, moved to Whitefish five years ago, eyeing the Flathead as their eventual retirement home. She decided she needed a break from working within the special-needs arena, so she now manages Remedies Day Spa, a Whitefish-based business that offers spa services in five Flathead Valley locations.

Her daughter helps out at the downtown Whitefish day spa location.

“Whatever task I give her, she gives it her all,” Bludworth said. “I adore her; she’s awesome.”

Bludworth said she and her husband didn’t find it difficult to raise a special-needs child.

“We’ve always treated her the same as our boys,” she said. The couple have two grown sons: Devon, 26, and Brandon, 20.

“We don’t cut her any slack,” Bludworth continued. “The more you expect out of kids with disabilities, the more they’ll get out of life.”

Bludworth wrote about her parenting philosophy as part of the nomination process for the Mother of the Year award.

“My philosophy on parenting is really very basic. Love your child for who he/she is,” she said. “We raised our kids as individuals, showing them dignity and respect. In return, they have an innate dignity and are above all respectful of others. While my kids are very diverse; they emulate the values that were instilled in them throughout their lives ... if you love your kids unconditionally, everything else just sort of falls into place.”

Bludworth was 18 when she married; her husband was 19.

“Having a 1-year-old and a newborn with Down syndrome made me grow up and become responsible,” she wrote.

With her oldest son she learned to be creative and spontaneous. Jordan taught her patience and appreciation of the small things in life. When Brandon came along five years later, he developed asthma as a baby, then had recurring migraine headaches that started in kindergarten.

“From him I learned calmness,” she reflected. “A mom can’t panic when her child can’t breathe.

“My kids have made me a better person than I ever imagined that I could be,” she wrote. “I like to think that the kindness, compassion and understanding that I have toward others was taught to me by my children.”

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.