Soap Lake's Brent Blake dies
Brent Blake, right, shares a smile in November 2012 in Soap Lake as dozens of well-wishers and community leaders honor him for the evening. He died Tuesday.
SOAP LAKE - Soap Lake visionary and personality Brent Blake, 70, died from leukemia Tuesday at Confluence Health in Wenatchee.
According to a previous Columbia Basin Herald story, Blake was diagnosed more than four years ago, and lived longer than the doctors predicted.
"I've ridden in rodeos and I've raced sports cars, I've curled and played baseball. I've just had enormous amounts of beautiful experiences," Blake said.
He was also the man and the mind behind the fantastical giant lava lamp that may or may not still be constructed in Soap Lake. The Soap Lake Art Museum was also of Blake's doing. He occasionally opined to the Columbia Basin Herald. He was an accomplished artist. He was loved much and cared for in his community, friends said.
"Brent was not only one of the most creative people we know, he was also unbelievably kind, compassionate, and upbeat. We never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. We are praying for comfort and peace for Anna, Brent's family, and his many friends. This is a huge loss to the community," Burr and Eileen Beckwith, of Soap Lake, told the Columbia Basin Herald.
Word on his passing spread quickly through Facebook content, including farewells and photos of Blake's art and adventures.
A service date had not been set Tuesday.