Whitney Elizabeth Blake of Washington, D.C. (formerly of Warwick, NY) passed away on April 4, 2023 after a long illness. She was 37 years old.
Born on June 7, 1985, in Seoul, Korea, she was the daughter of Robert, Jr. and Valentine (nee Deistler) Blake.
Whitney was salutatorian when she graduated from the Warwick Valley High School in 2003. She went on to graduate from the University of Virginia with honors, earning her degree in three years. One of her professors called her "exceptionally intelligent, industrious, highly principled, and a superb writer... She is one of the most impressive students I have encountered in my more than 20 years teaching."
Whitney was working as a freelance political journalist in Washington, D.C. Her pieces appeared in The Weekly Standard, The Washington Examiner, The Federalist, The NY Sun, and on FoxNews.com. She had also worked at Fox News Washington, D.C. bureau as an associate producer and at The Washington Examiner as an online editor and business reporter. She interviewed top White House officials, cabinet secretaries, senators, members of Congress, and governors, among other influential individuals in our nation's capital. Whitney was dedicated to her work and did it well.
Everyone who knew Whitney, knew she was a faithful and devoted servant of her Savior, Jesus Christ.
Whitney is survived by her loving parents, Bob and Valentine Blake of Warwick, NY; and devoted brother, Robert Blake lll.
Visitation will be on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with a 1:00 p.m. service at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Avenue, Warwick, NY. lnterment will follow in Warwick Cemetery, 50 Oakland Avenue, Warwick, NY.
ln lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Whitney's memory to any of the following charities:
Jill's House, 9011 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA 22182
Autism Speaks, P.O. Box 37148, Boone IA 50037-0148
Operation Homefront, 1355 Central Parkway S, Suite 100, San Antonio, TX 78232
Compassion lnternational, 12290 Voyager Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80921
U.S. National Marrow Donor Program, Be The Match Foundation, NW 5948, P.O. Box 1450, Minneapolis, MN 55485