Dave and wife Tatjana (c.2022)
I first came into contact with the remarkable R.D. (Dave) Blakeslee more than a decade ago – in September 2013 – when he submitted an article for my blog series where readers explained how they lived comfortably on $40,000 a year. Needless to say, the article by “Ralph in West Virginia” happened to be one of the most popular pieces of the 26 articles in the series. And while most of the contributors to that series seemed to move on to other things shortly after their article was published, Dave stuck around, leaving scores of incredibly wise and very helpful comments on many of my other blog articles. In all Dave left 1623 comments on my blog; every one of them a gem.
Finally in the summer of 2017, I asked Dave if he would like to occasionally share his wisdom more formally on my blog, in the form of an article. Not long after that, Dave’s very unique Grandfather Says series – a collection of fascinating stories and wisdom gleaned from his incredibly rich and extraordinary life – was being published here twice a month. In all, Grandfather Says ran, with encores, for five solid years; 97 entries in all. If you haven’t read them, I encourage you to do so!
One thing Dave and I had in common was our love for dogs. I also enjoyed his great sense of humor. As just one example, in May 2021, a couple of weeks before Dave turned 90, he sent me the following email and picture:
Had a skin cancer removed and asked the surgeon while he was at it to give me a nose job!
That’s Dave in a nutshell!
In September 2022, Dave sent me a snippet of his first wife’s diary with the following proposal:
Len, there’s enough great writing by Elaine in her diary to go for a year or two! I’ll keep sending excerpts. Nobody deserves to be heard more than Elaine!
He was right, of course. Since then, more than 50 entries of The Continuing Chronicles of Elaine have been published – and there are still 75 more of them in the queue, assuming the Blakeslee family wishes for them to continue being published here. If so, it will be my sincere honor to continue doing so.
Rest in peace, Dave.
My sincere condolences on Mr. Blakeslee’s passing, Len. From his posts, he did a lot with the time he had, and I hope I can say as much after 93 years of living, too!
Thank you for writing this “In Memoriam,” Len, and thank you for being a good friend to Dad.
I think he would be happy to know you’ll continue to publish “The Continuing Chronicles of Elaine.” So will I.
Kind regards,
Carolyn Blakeslee
It’s the least I could do, Carolyn. I already miss your dad terribly.
Condolences to the Blakeslee family and Len. Thank you for sharing and blessings.
It is sad indeed for those who love him.
I enjoyed his columns, and sharing jokes in emails with him.
May God comfort and bless you all.
Never met him (wish I had) but somehow feel I know him. This brings a tear to my eye.
Chris B.