Emily Blake
Feb. 11, 1931 – April 14, 2026

Esther (Emily) Blake, nee Howard, beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away at the age of 95 years, on April 14, 2026, at Rocky Mountain House, Alta.

Emily will be lovingly remembered by her five children: Linda (Leo) Hurtubise of Surrey, B.C.; Don (Sheilagh) of Powell River, B.C.; Ellie (Joe Brown) Oxley-Brown of Sylvan Lake; Dale (Shari) of Rocky Mountain House; and Brent (Tammy) of Rocky Mountain House; thirteen grandchildren: Nicole Hurtubise, Jen (Andy) Horsburgh, David Marthaller, Yvette (Rudy) D’Andrea, Melissa (Josh) Solberg, James (Leasa) Oxley, Jay (Tamara) Blake, Cameron (Kimberly) Brown, Jana Blake, Rene (Melinda) Blake, Tali (Sheldon) Blake, Matthew Brown, and Emily Blake; and twelve great-grandchildren. Emily is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Deloras (George) Howard and Dorothy (David) Munro, and many nieces and nephews.

Emily was predeceased by her husband of 48 years, Jay, in 2001, and by her only sibling, George Howard, in 2020.

Emily, the firstborn child of Walter Howard and Daisy Warner, was born on Feb. 11, 1931, in Innisfail, Alta. Emily grew up on the Howard homestead just east of town. She much preferred being outdoors helping her father on the farm to being indoors doing household chores. Although she learned to bake, her future husband had to teach her how to cook. Emily had a competitive soul. Whether it was as an athletic youth participating in many high school sports or aiming for high grades, she strove for the best.

This competitiveness continued throughout her life, whether playing games or displaying flowers at a fair. After graduating from high school, Emily worked at the Olds Treasury Branch until her marriage.

In 1951, Emily met the love of her life, Jay Milton Blake, at a community dance. They continued to dance until his death in 2001. Married on Aug. 9, 1952, they started their shared life by farming on the Blake family homestead in the Westholme area east of Innisfail. Within a year of their marriage, the couple’s first child was born, quickly followed by four more — Linda in 1953, Don in 1954, Ellie in 1955, Dale in 1958 and Brent in 1961. We often teased them: if they had wanted a smaller family, they should have bought the TV sooner.

The newlyweds farmed the Blake homestead until 1956, when they moved to Calgary with the first three of their children. In 1961, ever adventurous, jobless and knowing no one, Jay convinced Emily to move to Langley, B.C. By then, they had completed their family with the addition of two more children. Despite the challenges of a large family, Emily found time to help neighbours, host parties, play baseball and volunteer through the PTA and Girl Guides. To help make ends meet, Mom sold Avon, sewed clothes, planted, harvested and preserved fruit and vegetables from our garden and orchard. It is surprising how many ways Mom could use apples! One of Jay and Emily’s most successful endeavours was purchasing a Chevron service station in 1965. Dad did the mechanics, and Mom did the accounting and pumped gas. In 1974, after selling the service station, Jay decided he wanted to give farming another try, and, as with their previous moves, Emily reluctantly agreed. They moved back to Alberta after 13 years in Langley to find themselves on a farm in the Evergreen area near Rocky Mountain House. After a few years, Jay and Emily gave up farming but continued to make the Rocky area their home for the remainder of their years, except for two years back in Langley and a summer in Salmon Arm.

Mom remained a hard worker with an enterprising spirit when she owned several H&R offices. After six years, Mom sold H&R. During these years, Mom had cancer, which was cured through weeks of radiation. But because of the radiation, she lost a kidney. Nevertheless, she showed determination and continued to live her life to the fullest.

Mom also worked at the Plant Ranch, which she thoroughly enjoyed because of all the plants. Not to be forgotten were the four houses Mom and Dad built over the years. Jay and Emily loved RV’ing and put too-many-to-count miles on their various RVs as they travelled all over North America, including Mexico. In fact, they lived full-time in the RV for more than five years before buying their house on 56 Street in town.

In about 1988, to escape the Alberta winters, they started going south to California. Mom continued that 1,700-mile trek from Rocky Mountain House, Alta., to Desert Hot Springs, California, with only her dog for company until 2018. She was a valued member of Almar Acres, where she participated in most activities. No matter where she lived or travelled, Emily made new friends.

Mom’s deepest passion, other than family, was genealogy. She started researching the Howard and Blake families when there was no Internet, but spent hours upon hours poring over microfiche, maps and books at libraries, including the huge Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Competing for deepest passion was Mom’s love of gardening, especially flowers. She was so excited when she was awarded Garden of the Year. Mom’s love of the outdoors was evident in her enjoyment of gardening, fishing, quadding, and RVing, all of which she actively shared with Jay, her children, her grandchildren and friends. Other hobbies included garage-saling, needlework and reading. A highlight of Emily’s life was receiving the Rocky Mountain House 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award for her volunteer work!

A celebration of Emily’s life will be held on April 25, 2026, at the Rocky Funeral Home at noon, with Rev. Mark Chiang officiating. Lunch to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rocky Mountain House Health Centre, 5016 - 52 Ave, Rocky Mountain House, AB T4T 1T2.

Condolences may be forwarded to www.rockyfuneralhome.ca.

Rocky and Sylvan Lake Funeral Homes and Crematorium, your Golden Rule Funeral Homes, entrusted with the arrangements.