Joseph Calvin Blake, 79, passed away peacefully at LBJ Medical Center in Johnson City, Texas on Monday, February 22, 2021.  He was born in Jonesboro, Louisiana on November 3,1941. He graduated from Jonesboro-Hodge High School in 1959 and obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana Tech in 1964.  Joe married the love of his life, Sherry McConathy, in Jonesboro in 1963. They moved to New Orleans and then landed in east Houston in 1966 where he worked at the same petrochemical plant, which was owned by Sinclair, ARCO, Lyondell Petrochemical and finally Equistar, for his entire career. He was a project engineering manager for design, fabrication and maintenance of petrochemical facilities. After retirement, he did engineering consultant work for Haltermann and Dow Chemical. He loved his job and represented Lyondell in many community activities such as serving on the board of the North Channel YMCA, the North Channel Area Chamber of Commerce, guest lecturing a series on economics at North Shore Senior High and participating as a buyer at the Channelview and Sheldon youth stock shows. Joe and Sherry remained in the North Channel area of Houston until 2017 when they moved to Johnson City, Tx after Hurricane Harvey.

Joe is predeceased by his parents, I.C. and Louise Blake, and his siblings Dan Blake, Julia Blake Essmeier and John Blake.  He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sherry Blake, and children Laura Blake Adair, DDS and spouse Allen Adair, DDS of Henly, Texas  and Christopher Blake and spouse Christin Blake of Flint, Texas.  He was a proud grandparent of four grandchildren: Aidan and Olivia Adair, and Hunter and Mason Blake.  He is also survived by his sister-in-law Sandy Blake, brother-in-law Don Essmeier and a host of nieces and nephews.

Joe was a member of Uvalde Baptist Church in Houston.  He was an avid hunter who always appreciated wildlife and loved the Texas Hill Country.   A typical engineer, Joe was a man of few words but spoke with wisdom and integrity.  He only missed one day of work his entire career, he believed shirts without pockets had a design flaw, and he would drive a Ford truck until the floor-board was worn through!  Education was always his top priority, whether it was formal education or reading every word in the Houston Chronicle daily.  Joe fought a long battle against normal pressure hydrocephalus and non-small cell lung cancer and then most recently COVID.

Services honoring Joe's life will be held at 6:00 PM Friday, March 5, 2021 at Crofts-Crow Chapel in Johnson City.  Visitation will begin at 5:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate any donations to be made to the Hydrocephalus Association ( www.hydroassoc.org ) as there needs to be further research and education in the early diagnosis and treatment of the neurological disorder adult-onset Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

The family would like to thank the amazing team at the LBJ Medical Center in Johnson City for the compassionate and thorough care he received the last year of his life.