Blake David McDonald

Blake David McDonald passed away unexpectedly on Friday February 9, 2024 at the age of 24. He will be deeply missed by friends and family.
Blake was born in Tucson, Arizona on September 13, 1999. He was the second of seven children. From a young age Blake loved to participate in sports. In Tucson, he played soccer and baseball. When Blake was six, his family moved to Salt Lake City, UT. Blake continued to love sports, adding new sports as often as he could. While living in Salt Lake City, Blake played baseball, soccer, basketball, football, and lacrosse. Blake also ran track for a city team and learned to ski, which became a favorite pastime. Once while skiing at Solitude, he and his brother Andrew were stranded on the lift for two hours when the resort lost power. He attended Indian Hills Elementary through fourth grade and Salt Lake Arts Academy for his fifth grade year. Blake was also a gifted musician. While living in Salt Lake City, Blake began piano and violin lessons. He was a gifted violinist and continued to play the violin until he completed all of the suzuki books.
When Blake was 11, his family moved from Salt Lake City to Orem, UT. In Orem, Blake attended Foothill Elementary, Canyon View Jr. High, Orem High, and Timpanogos High School from where he graduated in May 2018. In Orem, Blake continued to participate in sports. He continued playing soccer and lacrosse while slowly gravitating towards basketball and football. He played football in High School and continued playing city league basketball. Blake could talk for hours about sports. After High School, he loved participating in sports fantasy leagues and watching mixed martial arts.
Blake was always a good student. After moving to Orem, he tested into the Advanced Learning Lab (A.L.L.) gifted program at Foothill Elementary. While doing homework was not a focus for him, he excelled in Math, Psychology, and Spanish.
Blake's friends were of utmost importance to him. He had a tight-knit group of friends that started in Junior High and continued on after High School. Spending time with friends was a source of great joy for him. With friends, he loved to play video games, lift weights, participate in standard and extreme sports, go hunting, take boating trips to Lake Powell, perform practical jokes, and be in the mountains. He felt a kinship with his friends and they were like family to him. They were there for him during good and bad times.
Blake was a great artist. While he rarely talked about his drawing, he spent a lot of time refining his craft. Drawing brought peace and comfort to him. He loved anime and would watch it with his friends and family. He specialized in drawing anime characters.
Blake was a mild-mannered person. He did not like conflict or being burdened by a lot of rules. He would defend his younger siblings in their mischievous activities and supported them in their sports. Picking siblings up from school usually involved a trip to the drive through. Blake was a free spirit and a minimalist. He had a way with animals. Over the years, he cared for several cats and loved to watch them. His cats brought him lots of comfort and companionship. He also loved his dog Koki.
Funeral Service will be held Saturday February 17, 2024 at Larkin Sunset Gardens, located at 1950 E 10600 S in Sandy at 11:00 a.m. A viewing will be held Friday evening, February 16, 2024 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Gardens. A short viewing will be held the day of service. from 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Interment will take place at the Orem City Cemetery.
Those wishing to view the COMPLETED service via Zoom can click on "Watch Service" or follow the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/hTrh8z-ODm-JTM2vCU5Axu4fls0Txs3D__9D95rZRockIyE9EZeac779Vq-zbGE8.bEnbH4Z5UuNo4u3g?startTime=1708191710000
Donations to help cover funeral expenses can be sent by Venmo to @utah-danmcdonald