Zachary Blakewell

During the early morning hours of December 8, 2022, the illness of addiction that had stolen Zach's effervescent personality, cut his life short. His family and friends will remember him for the outdoor loving, fun and silly science geek that he was.

Zach was born in February of 1997, the day of the dress rehearsal for the high school musical his dad was working on at the time. That came full circle because he ended up working on all the musicals running the lights during high school. Zach also participated on the Varsity Lacrosse team that won the Conference Championship. He went on to help others by attending a church Mission Trip to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. He graduated from Prairie Ridge high school in 2015 and was determined to be an engineer. He worked very hard at Western Michigan University and achieved his goal of becoming a Paper Engineer in December of 2020. During his college years, he had internships every summer, where he made numerous friends. His favorite was working in Ontario, California, where he lived very near Mount Baldy and enjoyed hiking there. He loved the outdoors and always took advantage of hiking and fishing when he had the chance. Despite his multiple attempts at rehab, Zach was unable to rid himself of the demons of addiction. He had an infectious laugh and always cared for his family and friends, who wished he would've been able to help himself to cure his illness because he had so much hope for the future.

Zach is survived by his loving family: His mom Sandy Blakewell, dad Tim Blakewell, sister Aly Blakewell and grandmother Pat Witkowiak. He is also survived by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Zach's family will hold a private service to celebrate his life. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Partnership to End Addiction at:

https://drugfree.org