(The following obituary for Brother Darrell Blake, Chairman of the West Virginia State Legislative Board, appeared on the Herald-Dispatch website on December 3.)
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Darrell William Blake, 58, of Huntington, W.Va., died Monday, Dec. 1, 2003, in St. Mary?s Medical Center. Funeral services will be conducted at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, 2003, at Henson Mortuary, Huntington, by the Rev. Gordon Rutherford. Burial will follow in Ridgelawn Memorial Park.
He was born Sept. 16, 1945, in Huntington, son of William “Bill” and Rita F. Blake of Lesage, W.Va. He was a locomotive engineer with Amtrak. A U.S. Army veteran, he also was a member of Mt. Union Baptist Church, a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, as well as state legislative chairman of the BLE.
In addition to his parents, survivors include his wife, Diane Roach Blake of Huntington; a daughter, Jocelyn Dare of Proctorville, Ohio; three sons and their wives, Trevor and Heather Blake of Lesage, Joey and Misty Martin Blake of Huntington and Bill Blake of Proctorville; a stepdaughter and her husband, Amy and Rob Short of Roanoke, Va.; a sister, Rita Darlene Bowen of Hinton, W.Va.; and nine grandchildren, Shelby, Wyatt, Garrett, Caden and Christopher Blake, Madisyn and Matthew Holderby and Kasey and Hunter Short.
Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003, at Henson Mortuary. Donations may be made to the Pediatric and Adult Congenital Heart Program, c/o Duke University Medical Center, Box 3090, Durham, NC 27710.
Condolences may be extended to the family online at http://www.TimeForMemory.com/Henson.