Kenneth R. Blow

PORTSMOUTH—Kenneth Reese Blow, 71, passed away September 4, 2021.  He was born in Portsmouth to the late Wilmer Reese and Evelyn Stallings Blow.

To know my dad was to love him. He was the most supportive, generous, adventurous, kind-hearted soul, who found such great pleasure in taking care of others. He never judged, always knew the right thing to say, always dropped everything when someone was in need, and always knew exactly how to fix it (whether it was a broken car or a broken heart, and trust me I’ve relied on him for both). He was a rock, strong and steady. A 'mighty oak’ as someone recently said. Healthy, active, social, hard-working.... he never complained of an ache or a pain. Never had to take medication. He had a gentleness that I always thought was extra special given his military background. He loved sending elaborate care packages. He always carried a backpack with bottled water and sunscreen and umbrellas and granola bars (because you never know what you’ll need). He took photos of absolutely everything and enjoyed making photo albums of our family vacations.

He had a fondness for almond pillow cookies from Fresh Market, pizza from Fellini’s, and chicken salad from Linwoods BBQ in Suffolk. He loved to travel all over Europe and eat in fancy restaurants, but he also enjoyed just spending his free time relaxing on the beach at the good ole OBX. He was a Disney World enthusiast and never tired of visiting the Disney parks, over and over again. He was thoroughly enjoying every minute of his retirement to the fullest, looking forward to the trips he had already booked to Denver, Disney World and other great places, all before the end of this year.

Last Monday my dad got out on his fancy electric bike and went for his usual bike ride. He came home, planted some mums in some containers on the front porch, and then sat on the couch to relax. It was around that time that his heart had the audacity to call it quits without the decency of giving any notice. He wasn’t able to recover, unfortunately, so here we are... left shocked at how someone who is the epitome of health can be here one moment and not the next. There really is no explanation for it. And there are no words to describe the absolute and complete devastation this has caused. Absolutely no words.

A Requiem Eucharist will be offered 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 22, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth. Due to the current, unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases in our area, St. John’s Church will require both face masks and proof of vaccination to attend. Interment will follow at Albert G. Horton, Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.