R Blake Edenfield

TRIBUTE TO BLAKE EDENFIELD

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, our daddy's beautiful and loving soul left his body to be with God Our Father in Heaven. He was 79 years old and his full name was Roscoe Blake Edenfield but insisted people call him "Blake" and not "Roscoe". He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Roscoe Franklin Edenfield and Irene Odell McCafferty Edenfield; sister, Mary Ruth Hornsby; brother in-law, Bob Hornsby; and grandson, Aidan Chase Edenfield.

Blake was born in Winter Haven, Florida on August 10, 1943 where he grew up with his mom, dad and sister. He graduated from Winter Haven High School in 1961 and was the first in his family to attend college where he graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Florida.

He started his career at General Electric, Apollo Support Department in Orlando, Florida as a System Engineer supporting the launch pad facilities control system design for the Saturn V vehicle of the Apollo program from 1965-1967. He moved to Texas to continue building on his career and start a family. He was very talented with a long and successful career doing what he loved and making great friends along the way. Other impressive roles and responsibilities of his career include:

*F-111 Aardvark Aerosystems Engineer with General Dynamics from 1957-1973 supporting Air Data system design, Flight Control design changes, and avionics module testing

*Project Engineer with The Western Company from 1974-1986 with overall responsibility for design and development of instrument and control devices on oil well service equipment, and developing new and improved products for suitability to harsh, abusive, service equipment on-land and off-shore

*Engineering Specialist with Northrop Grumman/LTV/Vought Aircraft from 1986-1998 responsible for preparing Unigraphics 3D models for C-17 Globemaster III manufacturing improvements, designing modification kits and technical coordination to refurbish the B-2 Spirit (Stealth Bomber) flight test aircraft including preparing changes to the electrical wiring system, served as Air Data Specialist and redesigned flight test instrument panels and installation for the B-2 flight test aircraft

*Engineering Specialist with Bombardier/Learjet from 1999-2005 selecting spare replacements for obsolete aircraft parts, designing mod kits for replacement spare installations, configuring electrical test sets and mechanical tools as a marketable product for sale to aircraft owners and operators, and preparing procedure documentation and AUTOCAD drawings

*Senior Design Engineer II with L-3 Communications, Integrated Systems from 2005-2019 assumed Integrated Project Team leadership role to oversee electrical wiring development to modify the P-3 Orion coastal survey aircraft, and providing technical coordination and design guidance to install electrical wiring for new sensor and control systems

He enjoyed living life to the fullest one day at a time and loved making people laugh, camping, lake and water adventures, shooting sports of all types and sizes, country western dancing, bowling, attending gun shows, shopping trips to Academy, Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, and Buc-ees, and visiting with friends and family. He was also an avid reader of fantasy and science fiction novels with favorite authors such as ... Robin Hobb, J.R.R. Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, Anne McCaffrey, and George Lucas just to name a few.

He retired to his farm in Greenville, Texas on May 31, 2019 where he enjoyed extending his talents for redesigning his house and shop, designing and building all sorts of creative "inventions", and hanging out with friends and family around the fire pit roasting hot dogs and marshmallows or sitting on the back porch with a diet soda or coffee. He attended the birth of his great granddaughter 7 days after he retired.

Blake was a one of a kind creation with a heart of gold that flowed freely to anyone needing a friend. His family and close friends are heart broken and miss him dearly. He loved his kids, grandkids and great granddaughter with all his heart and soul. He was loved, admired, and cherished by his family and so many friends that he made through the years. His silly sense of quick-whitted humor, fierce determination, a treasure chest of infinite wisdom and stories, and a generous spirit fill our hearts with many beautiful memories we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

He is survived by his son and daughter Kelly Blake Edenfield and Krista Lin Thompson; son in-law, Lance Martin Thompson; daughter in-law, Erika Edenfield; grandson, Lochlan Kincaid Edenfield; granddaughters, Arwyn Jolene Edenfield and Chelsea Nicole Kleckner; grandson in-law, Jeffrey Kleckner; and great granddaughter, Blake Lin (his namesake).

My dad and I would always let each other know when we made it home after leaving each other's company. This poem really touches my heart. Author is unknown.

I MADE IT HOME

I just wanted to let you know I made it home. Everything is so pretty here, so white, so new. I wish that you could close your eyes so you could see it too. Please try not to be sad for me. Try to understand. God is taking care of me...I'm in the shelter of His hand. Here there is no crying and no sorrow and no pain. Here it is so peaceful, when all the angels sing. I really have to go for now...I've just got to try my new wings.

PS...I'll be the first face you see when you get here!

Dad also says the weather in Heaven is perfect all the time so there's never any mud!

Rest in Peace Daddy! We love you so very much and miss you terribly!