Warren Blake

Warren P. Blake, 73, Grand Forks, ND, died Thursday, May 9, 2019 in his home.

Warren Patrick Blake was born November 5, 1945 in Grand Forks, the middle of three children born to Archie and Della Blake.

     Warren’s first job was at Deaconess Hospital where he met a beautiful woman named Susan. She also worked there at the time as an LPN.  They were married July 28, 1973 at St. Jude’s Catholic Church of Thompson. Their reception was at the Highlander in Grand Forks where they had a band set up to play who never showed up.  Susan’s parents put quarters in the Juke Box and they danced all night. Everyone had a lot of fun.

     Around five years later, they were expecting their first child. A girl, Heidi Marie was born November 2, ten days before a big blizzard hit the Grand Forks area. They were only able to have one child. But, that one child gave them three wonderful grandsons, Jacob, Masen and Karter.

     Warren was born and raised in Grand Forks on the north side of town called Spicerville. That’s where he and his brothers grew up. Warren never got to finish high school because back then, taking care of the younger kids was more important. That’s where he got the love of cleaning, from taking care of his brother and his messes. This took him on a wild ride down cleaningville. He worked at the Deaconess Hospital from       1963 – 1974. He then moved on to the old 1^st Presbyterian Church where he worked for            17 years.

     In 1999 he got the idea to move with his wife and daughter to the town of Hillsboro where he started working in the school system which took him into his next job four years later at the United Lutheran Church in Hillsboro, and as a janitor at St. Rosa

Catholic Church.

     In 2001 he and his wife, Susan decided to move to Mayville, ND, where Warren worked at the college as a janitor.

     Warren and his wife have always wanted to move back to Grand Forks because they always considered that home. In 2005, Warren’s dad passed away and left it up to Warren and his brother what to do with the house.  Well, low and behold, Warren had just found a job at Central High School at the same time the family was deciding on who got the house. Well, Warren and Susan did in 2006.

     In 2018 Warren had decided to retire and enjoy life. He enjoyed welcoming his first grandson, Jacob the summer of 2010. He loved planting a garden every year and planting flowers, taking walks or just sitting on the porch listening to the birds sing and just enjoying life. He also enjoyed going down to Iowa to see his daughter and son-in-law in the summertime, and of course spending time with the grandkids. Heidi and Jesse have two more kids together, Masen, born in 2013 and Karter born in 2018. He enjoyed  playing cards with the grandkids and teaching them life skills. He also loved teaching people new cleaning tricks, like using newspaper and Windex to clean windows,. “Never have streaks again” he would say, and he was right. 

Survivors include his wife, Susan; daughter, Heidi (Jesse) Radebaugh; grandchildren, Jacob, Masen and Karter; brothers, Orville (Helen) Blake and Terry (Debbie) Blake. 

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 11:00 AM Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church of Grand Forks. Visitation will be Monday, May 13, 2019 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM with a 7:00 PM Prayer Vigil at Amundson Funeral Home of Grand Forks. Visitation will continue for the hour before the service in the church. Burial will be in Memorial Park South Cemetery of Grand Forks.