Mr. Esau Blake, Jr., 63 was born September 19, 1956 in Durham, NC to the late Esau Blake, Sr. and Nancy Majors Blake (both preceded him in death). He departed this life on Monday, May 18, 2020 at Carver Rehabilitation and Living Center.
Esau attended Mount Vernon Baptist Church where he was a faithful member for many years.
Esau attended Durham Public Schools systems where he played football for Jordan and Hillside High Schools. He was a member of many clubs and was inducted into the National Honor Society. An unknown highlight, Esau made the highest score on the SAT in Durham County during his senior year of high school. He enjoyed math and science and while he did not boast about his intelligence, Esau used his intellect to help others by tutoring his classmates.
Following high school, Esau furthered his education at North Carolina State University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering and played football for three years. At the end of his Junior year, Esau transferred to North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NC A&T) where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Mathematics.
During his time at NC A&T, Esau met his loving companion, Cheryl Chavis. Following their graduation, Esau and Cheryl married and to this union they were blessed with one beautiful daughter, their little lamb – Lauren Ashley-Morgan Blake. Esau was preceded in death by his wife, Cheryl Chavis Blake.
Following his graduation from NC A&T, he started working for Westinghouse Electric Corporation, where he was an airplane design engineer. His entire career as an engineer was spent at Westinghouse where he performed secret service work in India. After spending years at Westinghouse, he relocated to Raleigh and spent several years working at Wal-Mart managing the Auto Mechanic Center, until his health declined and he decided to retire.
Esau enjoyed traveling and spending time fishing with his daughter. He liked exploring new restaurants and most recently discovered food delivery services such as Door Dash and Grub Hub. A people person, he loved spending time with childhood friends (Tyrone, Dwight, and Calvin 'Pot') and family. Esau was known for his humorous personality and big heart and loved bringing people together to share a good laugh and tell stories.
One of Esau’s proudest moments was supporting his daughter Lauren on her journey through medical school for the past four years. Lauren obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree last Saturday, May 16, 2020 from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. She will celebrate a virtual graduation ceremony this Saturday, May 23, 2020. Esau loved to tell anyone he met about his "Dr. Blake" and was looking forward to her moving home in June to train in Anesthesiology at UNC Hospitals.
Esau was preceded in death by his loving wife, Cheryl Chavis Blake, and one sister, Dinah Parker. He leaves to cherish a devoted daughter, Lauren Blake, of Raleigh, NC; one brother, Rodney Blake (Carletta) of Marietta, GA; one sister, Lori Blake-Reid (Qwon) of Durham, NC, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and close friends.
The family wishes to thank everyone for their kindness during this difficult time. It is because of your words of comfort and special prayers that allow us to remain strong and hold on to the special memories. We would also like to send a special thank you to Fisher Memorial Funeral Parlor for their generosity and care.
Matthew 5:4, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Esau "Junie" Blake Jr., please visit our floral store.