Richard Jerome Blake

Richard Jerome Blake, 81, of Paoli, PA, expertly dodged the COVID-19 crisis for a year, before finally succumbing to cancer and pneumonia on February 12, 2021, during a brief stay at Paoli Hospital.

With the pandemic restrictions, his family was unable to visit, but they treasured his brief texts and telephone conversations.

All of his adult children, Jean Blake Davis, Joan Blake Kirsch, Richard Blake, Jr., and Pamela Blake Fischer are grateful that he taught them to listen patiently, question politely, read with discernment, and work hard. He was a true gentleman, extremely well-read, and perhaps best known for being witty and humble.

As a proud grandfather of 10, he was pleased that his children were sharing all they had learned from him with their own children, and he was most at peace knowing that the next generation was thriving.

His family was proud that he had been a prominent editor at TV Guide magazine in Radnor, PA, long before cable, when people would read the guide intently and set their weekly schedule based on the listings. During the 1960s, he moved his family across the country when he was appointed Southern California regional editor in Los Angeles. It was during this time that TV Guide was the most widely read and circulated magazine in the United States.

Mr. Blake, who grew up in Wayne, PA, was the son of John Patrick Blake and Catherine Downey Blake. He was the youngest of seven, and predeceased by Joseph P. Blake, M.D., Margaret M. Blake, Catherine Blake Dale, Mary Blake Linette, John P. Blake, and James D. Blake.

He attended the Malvern Preparatory School, where he excelled in baseball and track and field, as well as Saint Joseph’s University. He had four children with his first wife, Cherie Hiester. During the last 25 years of his life, he was fortunate to be with his soulmate and love of his life, Nancy Crawford. It is she who has held everyone together, enabling them all to become closer. Mr. Blake will be dearly missed by her family, Chad and Sheri Crawford, and their four children. In addition, he was grateful for a longtime friendship with the couple’s best friends, Dave and Loie Plank, and he always looked forward to their regular dinners together, which endured throughout the pandemic.

Mr. Blake will be buried in the family plot at Saint Denis Cemetery, in Havertown, PA, and a private service to celebrate his life will be held at a later date, when the COVID restrictions are eased. Donations may be made in his honor to Surrey Services, 60 Surrey Way, Devon, PA, 19333, www.surreyservices. org.