A2 • Friday, February 19, 2021 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
OBITUARIES
My mother wanted me
to be brief on this part of
the assignment. If you knew
my “Mudder,” you knew
she loved to be the Queen
Bee, and was truly a force of
nature.
Some of her songs, quot-
able quotes and one-liners
included: “To thine own self
be true.” — Shakespeare
“Accent the positive,
eliminate the negative, latch
onto the affi rmative, don’t
mess with Mr. In-Between!”
sung to the tune of Johnny
Mercer and The Pied Pipers.
She loved Voltaire’s wis-
dom: “The pursuit of plea-
sure must be the goal of
every rational person.” And
of course, Coco Chanel’s
understanding: “In order to
be irreplaceable, one must
always be different.”
So what were her super
powers? She was a good
sport, fl exible and a straight
arrow. What did she believe
was her greatest asset?
Patience … patience can be
a bitter seed, but it yields rrr-
rrrrrich fruits!
When asked what she
attributes her longevity to,
she easily shares: Good
genes, red wine, dark choco-
late, being with the ones you
love, great friends and hav-
ing fun!
Marion was born April
29, 1918, in Denver, Col-
orado, to Marion Eliza-
beth and Donald Twiss.
The Spanish fl u, one of the
deadliest infl uenza pan-
demics, was raging. Mari-
on’s father was a pharmacist
and her grandpa, Dr. Noble
Macomber, had to deal with
this deadly health issue,
that did not have a vaccine
to come to the rescue. The
Spanish fl u had to burn itself
out, but not before killing
between 50 and 100 million
people worldwide.
Marion’s mother had
been plagued with a serious
heart condition, and died at
42, leaving her at age 13,
and her older brother Stan-
ley Craig, 17, in the midst
of the Great Depression.
Her father remarried within
six months, believing Mar-
ion needed a mother. Her
brother enlisted in the Army.
Marion rarely discussed
her heartbreaking youth.
She chose to make the best
life for herself. She grad-
Marion Elizabeth Blake
Richard Whitlock
Seaside
April 29, 1918 — Feb. 6, 2021
Seaside
Aug. 24, 1958 — Dec. 7, 2020
uated from North Denver
High School, and enrolled
in the University of Den-
ver. She excelled at writing,
sports, dancing and all of
the social skills around col-
lege life.
She loved her life, and
wanted to fi nd her perfect
soul mate. She met Mr. Per-
fect, always calling him the
Big Man on Campus! Wal-
ter Pershing Blake, a three-
sport letterman, all years,
smart, 6 feet 2 inches, eyes
of blue, great dancer and a
veterinarian student at Col-
orado State University in
Fort Collins.
She transferred to CSU
so they could be close. They
married May 27, 1941, at
half past four, the day after
he graduated. She always
referred to their perfect rela-
tionship of 55 years.
Marion and Persh joined
his father’s veterinary prac-
tice in Greeley, Colorado,
just after they were married.
They had a short assign-
ment at the University of
Missouri, where Persh was
a professor of medicine and
surgery. They started their
family and had three beau-
tiful girls.
They wanted to be in a
warmer climate, and moved
to Phoenix, Arizona, in
1954. Marion raised her
three girls while develop-
ing her championship golf
game and master’s quality
bridge game.
In 1963, the Blakes
moved back to Greeley,
Colorado, to take over his
father’s practice. Marion
took on a whole new role in
the family. She cared for the
kids, managed the house-
hold, and became a surgical
assistant and offi ce manager
for the solo practice.
In 1975, they retired
and moved to one of their
beloved areas, Estes Park,
Colorado. From their little
cabin they could look down
into the village and see
where they used to meet and
date during the summers,
Trout Haven.
In the 1980s they were
drawn back to the warmth
of the sunshine, Phoenix
and Scottsdale, Arizona.
More deserved time with
Mr. Perfect dancing, swim-
ming, golf and bridge, along
with the delight of their
three daughters and three
grandchildren.
More hardship came into
Marion’s life in 1996 and
1997. She lost the love of
her life, her husband of 55
years, followed by the cross-
ing of her middle daughter,
Judy, to cancer, at age 49.
She was encouraged, and
made her last move to Sea-
side in 1998 so she could be
close to her youngest daugh-
ter, Mary. Her oldest daugh-
ter, Marny, and her husband,
Paul, also were drawn to the
beach and to be near this
most remarkable and resil-
ient woman. She was living
with Marny and Paul when,
in 2009, Marny died of can-
cer, and Paul, in 2010, died
of a broken heart due to the
loss of the love of his life.
Marion had always had
the goal of living to be 100.
Not only did she reach that
goal, our Mayor Jay Barber
got the opportunity to pro-
claim April 29, 2018, Mar-
ion Elizabeth Blake Day. To
top that, on her 102nd birth-
day, a drive-by community
parade saw her become an
honorary detective for the
Seaside Police!
She was still kicking
butt, playing competitive
duplicate bridge three days
per week, up until March
4, 2020, when we all were
quarantined due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Mary moved into Mar-
ion’s house in 2012, and
they and their beloved four-
legged friends lived hap-
pily together until Marion’s
peaceful crossing Saturday,
Feb. 6, 2021, just a couple
of months before her 103rd
birthday.
Marion was preceded in
death by her husband, Dr.
W. P. Blake; Judy Wagner,
her middle daughter; and
Marny Philippon, her oldest
daughter.
Her survivors include
Mary Blake, daughter;
grandchildren Kristi Skiba,
Laura Warren and Jesse
Blake; and great-grandchil-
dren Bridgette and Hayden
Skiba and Brandon Blake
Short.
My Mudder wanted to
live forever! You could
help her do that by keep-
ing her spirit alive in your
heart, memory and stories.
Always remember to love
your mother!
A special thank you to
the caring hopsice team who
gave such good compassion-
ate care to us, and helped my
mother cross at home, in the
most beautiful and sacred
space.
We will have a party
to celebrate Marion in the
fall, when it’s safe for us
to gather. Until then … my
Mudder would want you to
know she’s happy and danc-
ing with the love of her life.
She wishes you all aloha,
and happy trails to you!
Please, no fl owers. If you
would like to celebrate Mar-
ion, please consider a dona-
tion of your time, talents
or treasure to your favor-
ite cause or to the Clatsop
County Animal Shelter.
Miss Me — But Let Me
Go
When I come to the end
of the road,
And the sun has set for
me,
I want no rites in a gloom-
fi lled room.
Why cry for a soul set
free?
Miss me a little — but not
too long,
And not with your head
bowed low.
Remember the love that
we once shared,
Miss me — but let me go.
For this is a journey we
all must take,
And each must go alone.
It’s all part of the Mas-
ter’s plan,
A step on the road to
home.
When you are lonely and
sick at heart,
Go to the friends you
know,
Bury your sorrows in
doing good deeds.
Miss me — but let me go.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is handling the fi nal
arrangements (hughesran-
som.com)
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
SEASIDE POLICE DEPT.
PUBLIC SAFETY LOG
incident at a duplex residence
is determined by police to be
kids playing.
Feb. 9
2:36 a.m., Chamber restrooms:
Property crimes are reported.
10:36 a.m., 900 block Holl-
aday Drive: A disturbance is
reported.
10:54 a.m., 2100 block S.
Franklin: A subject is cited for
disorderly conduct.
4:56 p.m., 800 block 13th Ave-
nue: A hit and run car accident
is reported.
5:29 p.m., Police headquar-
ters: An iPhone found on the
beach is turned in to police for
safekeeping.
Feb. 6
9:14 a.m., 2500 block Queen
Street: A disturbance is
reported.
Seaside Signal
9:52 a.m., Avenue A: Caller
reports a property crime in the
past; she said her truck lock
was damaged.
A Seaside man was
arrested Monday for man-
slaughter following a crash
that left a baby dead.
Emergency
crews
responded to a single-vehi-
cle crash at about 6 p.m. on
Ecola State Park Road.
Police say a Mazda MZ3
driven by Rony Tomas-Gar-
cia, 23, of Seaside, was head-
ing southbound when it
veered off the road, struck a
tree and came to rest on its
top.
10:06 a.m., 800 block 10th
Avenue: Caller reports a
dangerous hole in front of
his water meter. Public Works
is advised and says they will
remedy the situation.
12:16 p.m., 1100 block
Avenue A: Caller reports her
neighbor is looking at her mail.
Police speak to the neighbor
and warn them to stop doing
that.
A 3 1/2-month-old baby
girl died in the crash. A pas-
senger, Esperanza Mar-
tin-Ramirez, 20, of Rose-
burg, was taken to Columbia
Memorial Hospital in Asto-
ria before being transferred
to Oregon Health & Sci-
ence University Hospital in
Portland.
Tomas-Garcia was taken
to Columbia Memorial for
medical treatment and was
released.
He was arrested for man-
slaughter, assault, reckless
driving and driving under the
infl uence of intoxicants.
Three dead in crash
The Astorian
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6:53 p.m., 400 block 12th Av-
enue: Caller reports neighbor
making a racket. Police contact
neighbor who says they are
arguing with someone over
the phone. They are advised
of the complaint and agree to
lower the volume.
Cannon Beach
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Feb. 7
6:04 p.m., Carousel Mall: A
subject sleeping in a doorway
is advised to move along.
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8:14 p.m., 1200 block S. Roo-
sevelt: Subjects asked to leave
the premises by employees
are slow to leave; offi cers arrive
and tell them they are indefi -
nitely trespassed.
Call Sarah Silver
503.325.3211
ext 1222
Feb. 8
5:38 p.m., 1100 block S. Wa-
hanna: A reported domestic
Seaside woman.
Walter Smith, 21, of
Pendleton, who was driv-
ing the Mercedes, died. His
passengers, Erick Fadness,
20, of Decorah, Iowa, and
a 16-year-old female from
Portland also died.
The Seaside woman
who was driving the Toy-
ota Tacoma was fl own to a
Portland hospital.
The highway was tem-
porarily closed while law
enforcement investigated
and reconstructed the crash.
Three people died last
Wednesday in a two-vehicle
crash on U.S. Highway 26.
Police say a Mercedes
station wagon was head-
ing westbound at around
10 a.m. about 2 miles east
of the state Highway 53
junction when the driver
lost control and slid side-
ways into the eastbound
lanes, colliding with a Toy-
ota Tacoma driven by a
3:07 p.m., 400 block 15th Av-
enue: A resident reports their
mail stolen.
4:27 p.m., 2500 block Mason
Street: A subject reported
on property they’ve been
trespassed tells police the
homeowners have asked him
to keep an eye on the proper-
ty. No further information was
available.
Whitlock; daughter, Aimee,
and son-in-law, Seth Mor-
risey; son, David Whitlock;
granddaughters,
Emmy
Grace and Ava James Mor-
risey; sisters, Cathy (Al)
Drawson and Sally Whit-
lock; brothers, Sherman
(Cindy) Whitlock and
George (Angela) Whitlock;
numerous nieces and neph-
ews; and many friends, who
were also part of his family.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is in charge of the
arrangements. A service
will be held at a later date.
Donations may be made
in his name to Seaside Kids
Inc.
Richard will always be
remembered for his sense
of humor, good heart, and
his all-around love of a
good cheeseburger.
S
Feb. 5
Infant dies in crash on
Ecola State Park Road
Richard Whitlock was
born and raised in Sea-
side. Growing up, sports
were always a huge part of
his life, from Little League
Baseball through high
school, continuing into his
adult years, to playing city
league basketball and soft-
ball, to coaching numerous
Little League teams and
basketball teams.
Richard enjoyed attend-
ing and watching Oregon
State University football
games with his son, David.
He ran many 5Ks with his
wife, Kirstin, and daugh-
ter, Aimee, always being
sure to wait at the fi nish
line to say, “what took you
so long?” He loved being
“Grumpa” to his two grand-
daughters, Emmy and Ava,
always having pictures
ready to show off.
Richard took great
pride in his work as an
auto mechanic. He enjoyed
helping people, and numer-
ous customers became life-
long friends.
Richard is survived by
his father, Gene (Carole)
Whitlock; his mother, Patri-
cia (Hugh) Kerwin; his
wife of 42 years, Kirstin
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