Obituary of Paul A. Blake

Paul Blake of Sicklerville, NJ passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 20, 2013. He was a teacher of Culinary Arts at Camden County Vocational Technical School, a beloved partner of Michael J Rulli for the past 26 years and a beloved brother of his sisters Pat Lightfoot of Selllersville, PA and Carol Achmoody of Columbus, OH and his brother Bill Blake of Olathe, KS. He was in daily contact with Michael, Pat, the students he taught at CCVTS plus a few other close friends and neighbors. Paul was a supportive person who did his best to empathize with and cheer others during conversations. Teri Stallone, the Principal of CCVTS, shared that many comments from his students after learning of his death were about the ways he was sensitive to his students needs, cheered them with goofy jokes, and offered helpful suggestions to make whatever dish they were having difficulty with turn out right. Paul was born in Akron, Ohio on October 20, 1955 to William T and Phyllis J Blake (nee Marquardt). He arrived two months before his expected December due date and weighed only 2 pounds, 1 ounce at birth. Survival at such a low birth weight was unlikely in 1955. He spent the first few months of his life in Akron General Hospital. His parents were very devout Christians and attributed his survival to both the many prayers in his behalf as well as the excellent and compassionate care he received in the hospital. Paul was a member of Sicklerville United Methodist Church. Paul was a graduate of Firestone High School in Akron, Ohio and Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. He earned a Masters Degree in Education while living in Kentucky. In 1988 he graduated from the Restaurant School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While growing up Paul served newspapers, directed children's plays in his church, sang in choirs and was excellent with crafts and floral arrangements. Prior to attending the Restaurant School Paul's interest in cooking strengthened as he prepared dinners for special events and had his own catering business while living in Danville, Kentucky. After becoming a Chef, Paul was a Line Chef at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia and later a Chef for Independence Blue Shield in Philadelphia. His decision to become a teacher of Culinary Arts at CCVTS followed those experiences. A desire to form a company to prepare gourmet meals requiring minimal preparation for sale to individual households never materialized. In addition to cooking Paul had a passion for flowers and made many extremely beautiful floral arrangements. During summertime Paul would take classes to improve his cooking skills, vacation with his partner Michael or attend meetings of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) to keep company with his sister Pat at AAPM social events. He traveled with Pat and her husband David to Ireland in 2007 to attend the wedding of their daughter Amy to Jonathan Stewart of Dungloe, Ireland. Vacations with Michael usually included their dog Princess, succeeded by their dog Shadow. Other frequent social events included visits to or from friends James and George of Bucks County, Pennsylvania as well as Frank and Lucy Syer of Wildwood, New Jersey. Paul's health declined rapidly in the past few months as the ravages of heart disease and diabetes took their toll. He was in the hospital four times since the end of March. However, during his last conversations on the Friday night before his death he was looking forward to his return to teaching on Monday after his most recent brief hospitalization. It is clear that teaching gave meaning to his life as well as to the lives of his students. He was found collapsed and deceased on the floor in front of his easy chair on Saturday morning. Paul is survived by his partner Michael J Rulli, sister Patricia (Pat) Lightfoot and husband David, sister Carol Achmoody and husband James (Jim), brother William (Bill) Blake and wife Rebekah (Becky), 14 nieces & nephews, and 11 great nieces & nephews. In lieu of flowers please send a donation for the Paul Blake Culinary Scholarship Award. Checks need to be payable to CCTS Staff Recognition, and in bottom right hand corner or in a note, make it known the money is for the Paul Blake Culinary Scholarship Award. The address is Camden County Technical Schools, c/o Staff Recognition, 343 Berlin Cross Keys Road, Sicklerville, NJ 08081. Phone is 856-767-7000, ext. 5424. Email is sgolt@ccts.net