The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce got more than it bargained for when it hired Joe Blake as its president in 1999.
It got the enduring presence and support of Joe’s wife, Elizabeth.
A South Carolina-bred charmer, Elizabeth Blake was a fixture at chamber-related social events and business functions. She also was a civic activist in her own right.
She died unexpectedly Monday at the age of 67 in the couple’s Park Hill home. An official cause of death has not been released, but her husband told colleagues that it may have been a brain aneurysm.
A service will be held 4 p.m. Monday at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia St. in Denver, followed by a reception at 5:30 p.m. at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.
“She was such an incredibly warm person,” said Sharon Linhart, a public relations agency owner and friend of the Blakes. “That’s an overused word, but you always knew when you were speaking to her that she was totally focused on you.”
She was a member of a crime advisory committee during the tenures of Denver district attorneys Norm Early and Bill Ritter. “She was a brilliant lady,” said Gov. Ritter. “Brilliant in the sense of the tremendous light she shed on everything she touched.”
Denver City Councilwoman Marcia Johnson, a friend and neighbor of the Blakes for 33 years, said Elizabeth’s support of her husband and his career overshadowed an independent spirit and a variety of interests.
“I don’t think she was a planet around Joe’s sun,” Johnson said.
She possessed a sense of charm that resonated, particularly with men, Johnson said.
“It was nothing inappropriate — she could do it with Joe or anybody else,” she said. “It was an attitude that all these men needed to be taken care of.”
The Blakes met in the 1960s in Washington, D.C., when Joe was working in the federal government and Elizabeth was an aide to U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. They were married and returned to Denver, Joe’s hometown.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by a son, Joe Blake Jr.; a daughter, Anne Patterson; and four grandchildren.
Donations can be made to Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, 1355 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite C406, Denver, CO 80222; or to the Hospice of Saint John, 1320 Everett Court, Lakewood, CO 80215.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
