Blake Thomson

Ralph Blake Thomson was born January 19th, 1953, and passed away peacefully at home December 23rd, 2024, at the age of seventy-one. He was preceded in death by his father Jabez George Thomson, his mother Beverly Elaine (Hanney) Thomson, grandmothers and grandfathers. He is survived by his siblings, Terry Lee (Monte) Eggers, Kelly Jay (Lana) Thomson and Sherman Kay Thomson, nieces and nephews. Blake was born at the Evanston Regional Hospital and grew up in Randolph, Utah, where his father Jabez was killed in a Crawford mining cave-in when he was four years old. During high school he was a proficient basketball player, winning many championships and trophies. Throughout his life he also enjoyed golfing, keeping a regular garden of peas, tomatoes and vegetables, ice-fishing and fishing the Bear River, listening to all genres of music and sharing his witty sense of humor.

After graduating high school he spent twelve years at the Stauffer Chemical plant prepping railcars. Following his time at Stauffer Chemical he worked for many years in Randolph, constructing many local residences as a roofer, handyman and carpenter. He also led the restoration of the Wilford Woodruff house, dismantling the original structure log by log, nail by nail, meticulously marking each piece for reassemblage through a period of four years. While excavating the site he discovered several antique marbles, buttons, dice and other items still displayed on the property today.

Blake loved researching history and archeology and spent many years reading, visiting sites and cataloging many of his own books of information on local Indigenous settlement, mountain man rendezvous, nineteen-forties antiquities and pony express, railroad and Civil War-era artifacts. He could always be found reading archaeological publications or reviewing his own notes, often late into the night by lamplight. He passed this love of knowledge, personal research and learning onto his nieces and nephews, whom he doted upon dearly. He set a meaningful example of determination in working toward one's self-interests, personal achievements, and the fulfilling moments of life.

He is the wind between the pines,

he is the hillsides lined with chert.

He is the laughter and the learning,

he is the happy and the hurt.

He is the swaying of the greasewood,

he is the pea shrubs and the lawn.

He is the trilobites and magpie,

he is the tree it roosts upon.

He is the leaping of the pronghorn,

he is the fences backed with sage.

He is the sun, he is the sky,

he is the words upon the page.

poem by Adrian J Thomson

Following Blake's wishes he was cremated. His ashes will be interred at a later date.