Obituary of Blake Charles Dewhirst

 

Blake Charles Dewhirst, 70, of Victoria Beach, Nova Scotia, passed away peacefully on July 4, 2025. Born in Oshawa, Ontario on June 16, 1955, he was the son of  Chuck and Beverly (Phillips) Dewhirst.

 

Starting with Air Cadets as a young man, Blake had a dream to go flying. He received his private fixed wing license at 16 and at 18 he earned his commercial helicopter license and began a 35 year career with thousands of hours flying all over Canada; in the Arctic and Yukon, East Coast and British Columbia where he flew Medevac emergencies on the North coast for a number of  years. One day, while he was working in Labrador, he witnessed a young boy in distress in the water. He rushed from his hotel room, dived into the water and quickly reached the youngster who was unconscious by that time. He pulled the boy to shore and immediately began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which proved successful. For his heroism, he received the Order of St. John Award of Merit by the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland.

 

His hobbies included tinkering on cars, especially his beloved Austin Minis. He and his wife Amy owned a couple of boats and ran a busy fishing charter business in Prince Rupert. After retirement in Nova Scotia, he was working on a Snowbird-lifestyle with dreams of winter living in Arizona with his bus.

 

He is predeceased by his father, Chuck, and brother, Todd. He is survived by his wife, Amy (Harlow), Victoria Beach,  children, son Graham, daughter Adriene, both of Prince George, BC, mother, Beverly Ann (Baxter) of Collingwood, ON, sister Jill (Jim) Rendell of St. John’s, Nfld, nephews Phillip, Chad and Colt and niece Sara.

 

There will be no service by request. Memorial Donations in his memory may be made to Valley Regional Hospital Foundation, Valley Hospice Foundation, Nova Scotia Palliative Care Association and the VON."