Blake E Stephenson

Blake E Stephenson was born April 13, 1962, in Rexburg, ID, died April 14, 2020, in Shelley, ID, at the age of 58.

Blake grew up in Idaho Falls and Rexburg. He loved being on his grandparents’ farm and helping with the work. He often told stories of driving the tractors, moving pipe with his cousins, and and spending time with his grandparents. In the fall he enjoyed getting out on the hills and picking huckleberries. As a teenager he attended Skyline high school where he participated in many sports; remembering most proudly his time on the football team. He also took autoshop and rebuilt a couple engines, beginning what would be a lifelong enjoyment of curiosity and learning about technical mechanics.

As a young man he served a mission for the LDS church in New Jersey and NYC, where he learned to love the big city and terrorize the pigeons and loathe pigeons. After his mission he attended Ricks college on a football scholarship. He later finished his degree in business administration at Idaho State University, graduating in 1988. In 1984 he married Ruth Rogers, with whom he had four daughters (divorced in 2007).

Blake raised his family primarily in California and Nevada, but never stopped thinking of Idaho as his home. When his daughters were young he enjoyed attending their many sports competitions and musical performances, and always encouraged them to give their best. For much of his career he worked for Won-Door, a specialty fire and sound door company, where he enjoyed both the physically and technically difficult aspects of his work. He took great satisfaction in knowing that he was contributing to making buildings safer. For the last decade of his career he worked as a welder, fixing large rock handling equipment and working for contractors at the Idaho National Laboratory.

Throughout his life he enjoyed taking hunting trips, traveling to Texas to hunt wild pigs, Alaska to fish salmon, and Idaho to hunt elk. In 2003 he fulfilled a lifelong dream and travelled to Africa to hunt big game. He shared many trips and adventures with his friends and family and these were some of his happiest times.

After many decades away, he was very happy to move back to Idaho for the last few years of his life. In July of 2018 he married Cheryl Stephenson, with whom he had a wonderful life, especially enjoying raising dogs, cows, and gardening.

Blake will be remembered for the confident way he lived his life, his never ending love of learning, the way he loved to spoil his dogs with “snigglets”, the value he placed on hard work done well, and deep love he had for his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl Stephenson, his mother, Shirley Hampton, his father, Errol Stephenson, his daughters Shannon Johnson (Jerald), Amanda Knutson (TC), Michelle Stephens Klotzon (K), and Johie King, and seven grandchildren, Samuel Johnson, Ambrose Reams, Miranda Knutson, Jacob Knutson, Megan Knutson, Calypso King, and Lorin King.

Private family services will be held at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, April 18, 2020. You may watch the funeral on Facebook on the NFH Facebook page at the following link https://www.facebook.com/Nalder-Funeral-Home-101276728184355/?modal=admin_todo_tour.

You may pay your respects at Nalder Funeral Home (110 West Oak Street) in Shelley Friday evening from 5:00 to 7:30 P.M. or leave the family a message at nalderfuneralhome.com. Due to Covid-19 the family request’s you sign the register take a service folder and quickly pass by the casket allowing others to pay their respects. Burial will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery.