Dean Warren Blake died near his birthplace in Rexburg, Idaho, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010.
He was born May 31, 1915, in Sugar City, Idaho, the second of three children of Annie Pearl Adams Blake and Warren William Blake. As a small child he knew the loss of a parent when his father died of influenza when Dean was only 3, his sister was 6 and his brother was 8 months. As a young boy he learned the responsibilities of a young man, helping his mother, brother and sister and working to supplement income. He also knew the wealth of growing up in a small community with friends, family and caring people. As a young man, he worked on farms, including the farm of his future father-in-law, Ike Haynes.
Dean worked summers at the Sugar Co. and during his junior and senior year of high school he worked second and graveyard shifts during "campaign" (October to December when the sugar beets were processed to sugar). He graduated from Sugar-Salem High School where he participated in sports and music. After graduation he worked in Paul, Idaho, while living with his sister and brother-in-law Bert Harris. He alternately worked for the Sugar Co. during campaign and attended Ricks College during winter and spring quarters.
In December 1939, he interviewed and took a job with Douglas Aircraft in El Segundo, Calif., where he began on midnight shift. He was later transferred to day shift and took night courses and was eventually transferred to the liaison engineering department where he handled problems in manufacturing. He worked with the design group on engineering problems and problem solving. He received many promotions and eventually managed engineers. Douglas Aircraft later became McDonnell Douglas and eventually the Boeing Co.
He returned to Sugar City for the Fourth of July holiday to visit family, and married Juanita Haynes in the Madison County Court House, on July 6, 1940, after which they immediately returned to Santa Monica, Calif. They enjoyed the ocean and tennis until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, where Dean's division of Douglas Aircraft focused on manufacturing Navy planes with work schedules changing to seven days a week. During the war, he was also a member of the Coast Guard Reserve.
A daughter, Jacqueline, was born in 1946 and six months after her birth they moved to Huntington Park, Calif. During this time he continued to support his mother. His younger brother and best friend, Ronald, moved to California after his active duty as an Army Medic in Europe.
In 1957, Dean and Juanita brought their first new home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, later Torrance, Calif. Dean worked for McDonnell Douglas in Torrance and later Long Beach, Calif. He developed many working associate friendships that continued for 30 years after his retirement in 1973.
Dean and Juanita sold their home moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, in 1976. The following summer he worked with his son-in-law and his father, Charles Harris, to build their home where he resided prior to his death. Dean tenderly cared for Juanita prior to her death in 1982.
Dean enjoyed family picnics, fishing, bowling and gardening. His brother-in-law Bert Stoddard introduced him to horseshoes. Dean enjoyed the travel around the state, the company and competition and became State Champion in his division.
On June 9, 1987, Dean married Mary Alice Graham Harrop, whom he knew from his high school in Sugar City. They made their home in both Sun Valley and Rexburg and he was welcomed into her family. They enjoyed trips, family and friends in both communities. Special friends in Dean's life were Charles Harris, Keith Anderson, Marvin Melville and Ralph Naser.
Dean is survived by his wife, Alice; his daughter, Jacqueline [Ralph] Harris; step-sons Bob [Lee Ann] Harrop and Keith [Alice Ann] Harrop; step-daughter, Jeanine [Clint] Hansen; sisters-in-law Grace Devins, Ruth [Ray] Tuckett and Nell Zollinger; nieces Marlene Harris Swindell, Karla Harris Krommenhoek, Blake Harris and Van Harris.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Juanita Haynes; his mother and father; his sister, Cleo Marjorie Blake Harris; and his brother, Ronald Adams Blake.
Services were held Monday, Feb. 15, 2010, at the Flamm Funeral Home in Rexburg, Idaho, with internment at the Sugar City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to your favorite charity.
