grave import

Obituary

Melville E. Blake, the well-known attorney and junior member of the firm of Blake & Blake, died at 7:30 this morning at his home, No. 113 Woodlawn Avenue. His passing was sudden, the culmination of a four-day attack of acute pneumonia, and the sad information will be a grievous shock to his hundreds of friends and acquaintances among whom he moved so recently. Last Saturday Mr. Blake was at his office in the Tama Building. In some manner or other, he contracted a severe cold and on Sunday his condition was noticeably worse. Monday he was compelled to remain at home and his ailment rapidly developed into a serious case of pneumonia, which despite the excellent medical attention he received resulted in fatality.
Melville E. Blake was born in Morning Sun, Iowa, on November 24, 1852, and was the son of HE and Mary Blake. He acquired a portion of his education at Monmouth college and prepared himself for the legal profession in the law department of the State University of Iowa. He commenced to practice law in Burlington in the year 1876 as a member of the firm of Newman & Blake. Judge Newman died in the year 1892 and then he entered into a partnership with his brother, William E. Blake, which continued up to the present time. In the year 1876, he was married to Miss Nancy Gram, of Monmouth. Six children were born to them, all of whom with their mother, survive him, as follows: Mrs. Jewell, wife of Dr. Jewell, of Little York, Ill.; Henry J. Blake, of the City f Mexico; Miss Myra Blake, a teacher in the public schools; Wilson G. Blake, attending high school; Melville E., Jr., and Ruth, attending grade schools. He leaves his aged mother, residing in Morning Sun, and two brothers, William E., of this city, and WW, of the city of Mexico.
Mr. Blake was an elder in the United Presbyterian church and an earnest, conscientious worker in church matters. His death will, indeed, occasion a pang of more than passing regret in the hearts of those who knew him. He was a man of gentle disposition on and jovial inclinations, always ready with a smile of good cheer for his friends. Learned in his profession, he was strictly honest in all his business dealings, and it cannot be said that he ever wronged one person. He was a modest man and a man of few pretensions but always stepped forward in the cause of right and justice. On his bereft family, the blow falls with crushing force. As a father, husband, and son he excelled particularly and the strongest sentiments of domestic affection prevailed in his household. He loved his wife and doted upon his children and this feeling was returned with an earnestness that makes the severing of these ties appear all the more cruel. He was fully resigned to his fate, however, and died like the true Christian gentleman his conscience eased in the reflection of a well and usefully spent life.