Mark Blankenship

Mark L. Blankenship, a cherished and dedicated husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on Oct. 30, 2024, in Centreville, VA, at the age of 69, after a short and brave battle with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a rare neurodegenerative dementia.
Born July 12, 1955 to H. Clay Blankenship Jr. and Mabel L. Blankenship in Roanoke, VA, Mark's life was a testament to his love of family: his wife of 44 years, Patricia McCauley Blankenship; his two daughters, Lauren Blankenship May and Adrienne Blankenship-Loker; two sons-in-law Matt May and Rob Loker; and six beloved grandchildren, Sean, Kellan and Finn May, and Seamus, Adhamh and Niamh Loker. He was their "Daddo" and #1 fan. Mark is also survived by brother Henry C. Blankenship III, and sister Jane Blankenship Sarver.
Mark spent his childhood in Syracuse, NY, and Ormond Beach, FL. In high school, he became a nearly-scratch golfer and made two holes-in-one. He was graduated from Virginia Tech in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in Business. A loyal Hokie, he returned to Virginia Tech to earn his M.B.A. in 1984. That same year, he became a certified public accountant.
His professional life spanned auditing for the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as financial management of government contracts at General Electric, IBM and Lockheed Martin. He retired in 2019.
Mark's favorite place for family time was the beach, especially Sandbridge Beach, VA. Mark and Patti created a home there, Ships Ahoy, where his whole family could gather together and make memories to last a lifetime. He was the king of building sandcastles with his grandchildren and loved to hold their hands while they jumped in the waves.
His love of travel and nature took him on dozens of adventures across the U.S., Canada and Europe. He hiked 41 of America's National Parks and numerous state parks, documenting each trip with stunning photography. He was an expert planner and had mapped out ideas for trips for many years to come. He wanted to see it all!
Mark has donated his brain for CJD research at the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center, the only center of its kind in the U.S., at Case Western Reserve University, in hopes of helping someone else and working toward a cure.
In lieu of flowers, Mark's family requests you consider making a donation to one of the following organizations in his memory:
National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center at National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center | Pathology | School of Medicine | Case Western Reserve University
Spondylitis Association of America at Spondylitis Association of America | Serving the Spondyloarthritis Community
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
or to a charity of your choice.
"Grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you. I loved you so- 'twas heaven here with you." – Isla Paschal Richardson