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March 18, 2003 - May 02, 2003
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March 18, 2003 - May 02, 2003
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Anderson - Morton H. ''Marty'' Blake, 65, Anderson celebrated his homecoming after a courageous battle with lymphoma May 2, 2003 at St. Johns Health System, Anderson Indiana. He was born March 18, 1938 in New Albany, Indiana, and resided in Anderson, Indiana. He worked for Chester B. Stem, Inc. and Stemwood in New Albany, IN as comptroller and served on the Board of Directors. In 1992, he continued his career as business & office manager for his son, Dr. Jeffrey Blake in Anderson. He was a member fo the of the National Guard for 6 1/2 yrs. He was a faithful member of Atwood Wesleyan Church in Louisville, KY, where he served as treasurer and a member of the church board for 15 years, transferring his membership to the 1st Church of the Nazarene after moving to Anderson in 1996. He enjoyed traveling, gardening and landscaping. He was a loving and faithful husband to his wife of 45 years, Marilyn ''Joy'' (Weedman) Blake, whom he married in Louisville, Kentucky; a dedicated & wonderful Dad to his daughter, Robin (husband, Milo) Eldridge of New Albany, IN and his son, Dr. Jeffrey (wife, Jennifer) Blake of Pendleton; a proud & devoted Pappaw to his grandchildren, Benjamin, age 12, Rachel, age 10, & Samuel, age 5, Eldridge of New Albany, IN and Emily, age 10, Amanda, age 8, and Ethan, age 6, Blake of Pendleton, IN. Also surviving are four brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; Alma & Bill Terry of Louisville, KY, Wilma Nix of DePauw, IN, Don Weedman of Louisville, KY and Jerry & Muriel Weedman of Franklin, NC and a host of special friends. He was preceded in death by a stillborn brother, William Blake and his parents, Carl & Mary Elizabeth (Roberts) Blake. Services will be Tuesday, May 6, 2003 at 11:00 AM, at 1st Church of the Nazarene, with Rev. Gary Cable and Dr. James Storey officiating. Burial will be in East Maplewood Cemetery, Anderson. Visitation will be Sunday, May 4, 2003 and Monday, May 5, 2003 from 4-8 PM each day at Robert D. Loose Funeral Home and Crematory, South Chapel, 200 West 53rd Street and 1 hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. A Memorial Service will be held in the New Albany, IN area at a later date. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the 1st Church of the Nazarene, 2324 Jackson St., Anderson, IN 46016 or American Bible Society. A Prayer for my Father Our Heavenly Father, We praise you for your greatness, power and love. We thank you for your many blessings and gifts, all undeserved. And now as we sit in vigil, watching Dad linger in his broken physical state, we lean on your promises and embrace your strength. Yes, it is hard to remind ourselves of what we know, when our hearts hurt so much. Even when we question your will and plan, and even wonder if you are still by our side, your Word comforts us. Emotions are fickle and unreliable. Please help us to be human and emotional, but not to base our faith in You and your plans on our feelings at any particular time. We know that your will is perfect. Our desires may be selfish and contrary to your plan, but again, we are human as you have made us. We are your image, so we know that you cry as we cry. Please forgive our questioning, anger and shortsightedness. Christ asked for His will also, but ultimately, conceded to your will. Please forgive us for wanting our way. Matthew 26:39b ''My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'' You never promised us immortality, you never promised us that we would not suffer, that we would not grieve or be sad. You did promise us that You would shoulder the burden, give us peace, and that there are more important things than we can ever imagine. You promised us eternal life in paradise, in Your presence and glory. This physical life is all we know, but it is only a minute part of our existence. Help us to keep the perspective. There is no doctrine of “fairness”. You never promised us life would be fair. Until we can give up the notion that there should be human justice and equality, this limited perspective on life will always leave us unhappy, coveting, and comparing. We will exist in bitterness, always thinking that life should be different. Life is not fair. Our human existence, by it’s definition, is cruel and it will always end in poverty. Life apart from God is empty. Even as we sit and question God, even as we sit and grieve and mourn, we still have Your fullness and peace and comfort. As we try to contemplate the future, we know that in the end, you will give us more than we deserve, more that we can ever imagine. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. We embrace this promise. John16:33 ''I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.'' We pray that you will take care of Dad. We know you will, we know that when he comes home he will be happy and at more peace than we can ever imagine. But we still pray this as we come along side Your will. We pray that Dad’s time here on earth passes with the least suffering possible. He wants to go, but, for whatever reason, You choose to keep him here longer. We have released Dad to you, and have assured You and Dad that we accept this course. We want him to go so he can experience your peace and healing. Help us to accept this difficult time. We pray for understanding, meanwhile knowing that understanding may not be in our best interest. PHP 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Dad’s influence by his life has left us continually amazed. His witness for you during these last few months has been inspiring to so many, opening their eyes and hearts to You. We see Your greater plan unfolding. We know that if Dad’s life has helped just one person come to you, that he would do this all again. Please help us to have the same hope, desire and willingness for sacrifice, as You and Your Son showed, as have so many of Your saints before us. MT 25:21 ''His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' Dad has showed us the responsibility and stewardship. He has shown us love and commitment. He has shown us strength. He has raised us in Your presence and in relationship with you. Here-in lies his legacy. He and Mom have raised a Christian family, and we will pass that on to our kids, and teach them to pass it on to theirs. You have given Dad so much. Please help us to remember that even though he suffers and dwindles, he has been blessed, and these blessings far outweigh what he has lost in this short time. Matthew 25:20 I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In the coming days and years, more of Your plan will be revealed. We hope that there will be more understanding. We know that we will be healed and will grow from this. It may be slower than we want, it may be more painful than we want, but we can be assured that we will be better for it. Like Dad, we have committed our lives to Your glory. This will require still more sacrifice, more questions, more discontent and more testing of our faith. Through this, we will always have Your joy. Like Dad, we will focus our purpose and vision on eternity–ours and those around us. We may not understand at times, but help us to accept these things. Phillipians 3:13, 14 But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In the next few hours or days, Dad will claim his prize. This knowledge is comforting. Help us to press on. Help Mom to feel your peace, joy, and comfort. This present suffering will end, our grieving will lessen, and we will go on. God wants this Dad wants this, and we need this. Life will go on. Maybe not how we had planned or hoped, but under God’s Divine protection. One day we will understand, but only after our families and friends have endured the same grief and mourning that we now endure, as those before us have experienced. Dad endured the same with his father and feared that we would suffer the same. He persisted and grew, like he knows that we will. We will grieve and mourn, but we will celebrate in the intervals. Joy will overcome sadness in time. Finally, we hold on to Your promise and this hope: Isaiah 40:31 But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Thank you again, for all that you have done, and all that you will do. This is hard–we would be lying if we said otherwise. But you will strengthen us and bless us in ways that we can’t image or necessarily understand. Thank you for lending Dad to us for these 65 years. Happy soaring, Dad. We will always love you and remember our time with you. Amen. Love, Your son, Jeff Daddy's Daily Digest- Tuesday, May 6, 2003-the final entry Daddy has fought the good fight. He has finished the course. He has kept the faith. On Friday, May 2, 2003, at 10:20pm, Daddy received his crown of righteousness. He is now rejoicing in heaven with the saints, sitting at the feet of Jesus. Even though he lost the battle to the vicious disease of cancer, daddy has won the war. Throughout the battle, daddy was a courageous soldier. His positive attitude and upbeat spirit encouraged us all. His faith in God- his heavenly Father, strengthened us and showed us the depth of the relationship they had together. What a legacy he has left behind for his family and his friends. I know God must be truly wonderful in so many ways, because my daddy was made in His image....and my daddy was wonderful in so many ways. My daddy was generous and giving. He was gentle, yet firm and guided with a loving hand. He sacrificed a great deal for his family, but took this as a privilege in his role as dad. He was kind and so very thoughtful of others. I am so very blessed to , not only know Marty, but to claim him as MY daddy. Throughout the battle with lymphoma, I was terribly proud of my dad and I am so VERY proud to be his daughter. As happy as I am for him that he is now living in his new heavenly home, I am going to miss him so VERY much. I already do. I can't imagine life without my daddy. He was a most wonderful, loving and faithful husband to my mom. When mom returned to college in the late 1980's, he supported her in every way. Through two shoulder surgeries, he lovingly nursed her back to health, helping her with her physical therapy, the cooking, the cleaning, and numerous other ways. He was so thoughtful of her--even giving her a mother's day card just last week, before he got worse. Her birthday and anniversary cards are already in his briefcase, ready to be given to her next month. He loved her dearly and often expressed that she was the best thing that ever happened to him. Mom always said HE was the best thing that ever happened to her. They were truly ''best buds''. In just six weeks, mom and daddy would have celebrated 46 years of wedded bliss. Daddy was a great dad, too. He offered many opportunities to expand and broaden us. Mom and dad made sure we were at church, taking us everytime the doors were open. We had family devotions, along with many family vacations. Music lessons were provided, along with other support to further develop our talents and interests. Daddy used his bonuses each year to pay our college bills. Daddy willingly and unselfishly used that extra to further our education. Dad and mom invested much in the rearing of their children, and I trust and pray they are pleased with their investments, growth AND dividends. Daddy has been a most wonderful grandfather. Six grandchildren were blessed to call him Pappaw and share walks, jokes, games, vacations, books, play-time, popcicles, fun, and donuts. I grieve that these years won't continue, but the memories are rich and sweet---and hopefully, long-lasting. For the kids, this song will have more meaning: Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with glory and grace. I want to see my Savior's face (and pappaw's face) Heaven is a wonderful, Heaven is a fabulous, Heaven is a wonderful place. Daddy was also a good friend to many. Even though my parents' move to Anderson brought great sorrow to me, I have gradually seen how good this move was for them. During the past seven weeks, I have seen first-hand how loved my parents are, and how much they love their new friends and church. The steady flow of visiting friends, care given to us by so many, and needs being met by choir members all demonstrate to me that God's hand definitely was in the move. Daddy was a good listener.. He provided fatherly advice to those who were hurting. He offered his shoulder and his ear to so many. He was loved by a host of employees, co-workers, sales reps, and other medical personnel. (and this from a man who always said he disliked doctors!) Cancer destroyed my daddy's body, but it did NOT destroy his spirit, his sense of humor, his big smile, his thoughtfulness, his faith in God, or his love for us. Throughout the last hospital stay, when the cancer made him paralyzed and gradually took over his body, daddy kept joking, smiling and laughing. He kept working, too, doing office work on his bed. He would remind us, ''don't sweat the small stuff'' or ''it will be okay.'' He thanked anyone and everyone for whatever they did. Not a single unkind word or thought crossed his lips. He never complained. All the nursing staff loved my daddy! They cried with us when we cried. They rejoiced with us when we rejoiced. And now, our dear friends and fellow prayer warriors- we thank YOU for being a part of our battle, our journey-- through the ups and downs, through the praises and the prayer requests, and through our victories and our disappointments. We could not have come this far without your support, care, concern, notes and prayers. We feel blessed you were on our side. We are grateful that *daddy is now in heaven (with a perfect body and NO cancer), with his Lord and Savior, wearing his crown of righteousness *the church family is supporting our physical needs *daddy's life has touched so many others' lives in a variety of ways *our family and our fellow prayer warriors have grown closer to each other and to God through this experience Please pray that *God will give all of us the grace and strength to meet each new day *God will help mom make the monumental adjustment to no longer having daddy as her helpmate *scientists and doctors can find a cure for lymphoma, especially the aggressive strain that took my daddy *God will continue to use my daddy's life (and ours) for His glory and that this celebration service of daddy's life will bring new souls to the Lord....so they, too, may someday fight the good fight, finish the course, keep the faith and receive their crown of righteousness which the Lord will give them. Blessings and Love to each one of you... Thank you , again, for being part of our team. We are on the winning side!! Robin, for the Blake soldiers p.s. As a side note.....Daddy's favorite song was Amazing Grace....this song was used several times during the service today...at the cemetary, our family sang Amazing Grace as the casket was being lowered into the ground.....as soon as we finished singing, there were church bells in the distance playing....and they were playing AMAZING GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and the sun was shining brightly, too.....).... what a perfect day... www.LooseFuneralHomes.com |
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