Biography

Blake was born on August 11, 1987, in Fort Worth, Texas, and spent part of his early years in Summerville, South Carolina, and Lexington, Kentucky, before his family settled in Seattle in 1995. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2006 and earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 2010. Blake also earned an M.F.A. in Creative Writing with a concentration in poetry from Eastern Washington University and an M.S.W. in Clinical Social Work from the University of Washington. He worked as an outdoor education instructor and wilderness guide, an admissions counselor at Stanford, a Spanish interpreter for a pro bono legal services organization, and most recently completed several internships in clinical social work in Seattle. Blake also did volunteer work with Seattle Homeless Outreach, where he impressed his fellow volunteers with his practice of treating everyone he encountered with the utmost dignity and sensitivity.

Blake was an avid hiker and cyclist, a gifted musician, and an accomplished poet, among his many broad and varied talents and pursuits. He cycled solo across the United States, from Boston to San Francisco, making friends and writing poetry along the way. He had an independent and adventurous spirit, embraced new experiences and cultures, was always thoughtfully reflective, and found meaning in building supportive relationships with other people. Blake sought solace in the mountains and was happiest in alpine meadows surrounded by wildflowers and rows of snowy peaks in all directions. He moved with grace through the world and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

People were drawn to Blake by his kindness, startling intelligence, keen insight, sly humor, and attentive listening. He established deep connections with people across his life, from bagpipers he played with in Santiago, Chile, and in Vancouver, British Columbia, to college classmates, to hiking partners, to graduate school professors, to childhood friends. He had the rare gift of making people feel known and seen in this world.

Blake passed away unexpectedly on November 15, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. He is survived by his mother, Greta Hewitt; his father, Thomas Parkinson (Lisa); his brother, David (Meredith) and his nephews, Graham and Callum; his aunt, Lizzie (Geoff); his uncle, David (Susan); his cousins, Stuart and Colin; his aunt, Leslie; and by many beloved friends.