Wayne Jay Blake, 79
Wayne Blake, 79
Wayne Jay Blake, 79, was born May 28, 1944, in Kalispell, to William and Louise Blake. He passed away peacefully at home on July 9, 2023, with his loving wife by his side.
He attended Flathead High School, graduating in 1962.
He enlisted in the Army and served a total of 15 years.
He worked as a lumber grader for various mills in Montana for over 20 years until a back injury while training with the National Guard forced him to retire from lumber grading. He then worked for Semitool for a number of years before starting Blake’s Home Maintenance.
He operated his business and drove the Snow Bus until his retirement in 2007.
He met his wife Carol while she was vacationing in Helena, and he was at a National Guard drill.
They hit it off and were married on February 17, 1990.
Together they enjoyed camping, boating, fishing, and hunting with friends and family.
They had season tickets to the Montana Grizzly football games and attended them faithfully until they moved to winter in Sahuarita, Arizona.
He loved joking around and pulling pranks on people. He was known as a gentle giant. He loved animals, especially dogs.
His faithful dog, Gipsy, preceded him in death.
He always had time to pet a dog and loved to feed them treats. There was never a skinny dog when Wayne was around.
In 2012, Wayne and Carol made the decision to sell their house in Montana and move to Sahuarita.
They decided to start “camping” during the summer in their daughter’s backyard.
They enjoyed many summers watching their grandchildren and great-grandson, Tucker, play in the yard.
They attended their grandchildren’s high school sporting events, becoming some of their biggest fans. Wayne loved watching Tucker drive his power wheel, and later his 4-wheeler over to their camper where he would pretend to be a dinosaur or some other animal and would have popsicles with great-grandpa.
He enjoyed sitting outside watching Tucker jump on the trampoline right outside of their camper.
At the time of his passing, he was a member of Desert Hills Lutheran Church, The American Legion, and The Elk’s Club.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sons John and Michael; and dog Gipsy.
He is survived by his loving wife of 33 years, Carol of Sahuarita. His son Warner, and daughter in law Lisa Blake of Kalispell; his daughter Michelle, and son-in-law Shawn Cady of Columbia Falls; his son Paul Ulberg of Kalispell, and daughter in law Lisa Blake of Veradale, Washington; his brother Ron, and sister-in-law Lynda Blake of Bakersfield, California; his grandchildren Travis, Levi, Kaylee, Nikki, Justin, Tessa, Wyatt, Graceanne, Makayla, Lexi, Jager and Kiya; and his great-grandsons Tucker, Benjamin and Theodore.
Wayne's celebration of life will be at 11 a.m. on July 22, at Desert Hills Lutheran Church in Green Valley, Arizona. He will be interred at Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Marana.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to a Veteran’s charity of your choice.