Bennie (Ben) Blake

December 28, 1943 - September 21, 2026

Ben, beloved husband, father and grandfather, brother-in-law, friend, and veteran passed away in Spokane after a brief illness at 82 years old.

Born in Dallas, Texas to Benjamin and Edna Blake, he traveled around the country as his father’s construction jobs shifted.  Benjamin and Edna settled in the Tacoma area where Ben graduated from Franklin Pierce High School.  After high school, Ben enlisted in the Army (1962-65) and was stationed in Germany where he spent his leave traveling, visiting museums, and sampling beer at local pubs.  

After Ben’s military service, he enrolled in the Eastern Washington State College’s (EWSC) Social Work program.  During college, Ben met Carol, the love of his life, and they were married in September of 1967.  Ben earned his Bachelors degree of Social Work in 1969.  With his degree in hand, Ben took his first social work job in Colville where he worked bringing social services to the native people on the Colville Reservation.  After six years, Ben applied was accepted into the first cohort of EWSC Masters of Social Work where he served as the editor of the monthly Social Work magazine.

After graduating with his MSW, Ben worked for Washington state for two years to meet the requirement to sit for his Academy of Certified Social Workers exam on May 19, 1980.  On May 18, 1980, Ben loaded up the family and tent trailer and set off for Seattle (the first leg of family vacation).  With the Mt. St. Helen’s ash cloud overhead in Moses Lake and visions of Pompeii swirling, Ben drove through until the sky cleared in Snoqualmie.

Ben found his calling in Washington state’s Department of Social and Health Services Adult Aging department.  Ben worked in the department, and for the latter part of his career, was the manager of Eastern Washington for Adult Family home licensing and inspection department.  Ben served Washington State for a total of 31 years, retiring in 2000.

While Ben enjoyed his career and helping others, he loved retirement much more.  Ben traveled to Europe with his family, coordinated camping trips, enjoyed fishing with the grandchildren, created mosaic art work, hosted BBQs, and spent time with friends and family.  Throughout retirement, Ben became known as “Mr. Fix-It” where he would approach a problem with “retirement time” on his side and create unique solutions to fix problems (and sometimes he would just buy the correct part). His creative inventions are still used on the farm today like the Gopher-Getter, Walnut-Cracker, bird baths, and other devices to help around the farm.

Throughout retirement, Ben kept busy on the farm with a reforestation project where he and Carol planted over 3,000 trees.  Planting was just the first step; he also watered, weed whacked, and used the Gopher-Getter to help the saplings survive.

Ben was kind, caring, witty, humorous, and was devoted to family and friends.  Ben is survived by his wife of 59 years, Carol, son Paul Blake (Ginger), daughter Julia Gerard (Wayne), grandchildren Duncan, Quentin, Gillian, and Bryce.  Ben was preceded in death by his parents, Benjamin and Edna, and his sister Sharon.

A graveside service will be held on Saturday November 7 at 12:00PM at Fairmount Memorial Park, Spokane, Washington.  In Ben’s honor, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane or a charity of one’s choice.