Charles Melvin Blake

1918 - 2011
Dr. Charles Melvin Blake, 92, of Travelers Rest, SC, a retired Methodist minister, missionary, and pastoral counselor died on Monday, March 7, 2011, after a fall at home, ending an eventful life that took him from rural Indiana to Africa and beyond. He was born June 20, 1918, in Corydon, IN and spent most of his youth in Eaton, IN. He worked his way through Taylor University (graduated 1940) and Drew Theological Seminary (graduated 1943). In 1941 he married Doris N. Brown. He became a Methodist minister in South Milford, IN, where consoling families who lost fathers and sons in the war was his most painful duty.

In 1946, the Blakes volunteered for missionary service. After training at the Kennedy School of Missions in Hartford, CT and learning Portuguese in Lisbon, Portugal during 1947-48, they went to Luanda, Angola, Africa where they were Methodist missionaries for the next nine years. As a missionary, Dr. Blake struggled--with some success--to shift church leadership from missionaries to Angolans. In 1957, he was appointed Executive Secretary for Europe and Africa at the Methodist Board of Missions in New York City; he supervised 220 missionaries and was responsible for Methodist work in 21 countries in Africa and Europe during a time of African revolutions and internal conflicts. In the turmoil, hundreds of African Methodists were imprisoned or killed, mission property was destroyed, some missionaries were imprisoned and one missionary was killed. His tenacity, creativity, and administrative and interpersonal skills stood him in good stead as he strove, at great personal cost, to meet the challenges.

In 1968, at age 50, prompted by his struggles to help missionaries with their personal relationships, he embarked on a new career, beginning a doctoral program in Pastoral Psychology and Counseling at Boston University. After receiving his PhD, he entered private practice in Newton Centre, MA and continued until retirement in 1984. Years later he moved to Palm Bay, FL and in 1993 he married Karen Whitney Mitchell. They moved to Travelers Rest, SC, where he contributed his clear baritone to the Piedmont Men's Chorale, continuing his lifelong love of singing--in his youth he sang in his high school chorus and church choir, in college he was in the Varsity Quartet, and in Angola he founded a men's choir that continues today.

Dr. Blake is survived by his wife, Karen Blake; his five children--Dr. Paul Blake (Åse) of Salem, OR; Sue Blake of Watertown, MA; John Blake (Marcia) of Vilas, NC; David Blake (Sue) of Bellingham, WA; and Stephen Blake (Suzie) of Pittsfield, NH; seven grandchildren; six great grandchildren; a sister, Mary Cathern Reid of Lewisville, TX; and a brother, Dr. Floyd Blake of Warren, IN. Celebration of life: April 23, 3 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1135 State Park Rd. Greenville, SC. Donations: Angola Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Malcolm McVeigh, 15 Michigan Avenue, Whiting NJ 08759.