Raymond Walter Blank Jr., 74, was an inspiration to his students, his family, and his colleagues.  A passionate life-long educator, he left this earth peacefully on May 16 ^th , 2022, at his home in Mt. Vernon, Washington, surrounded by his wife, Wendy LaPrade, and his children, Aaron and Chrissy.

Prelude: He was born on August 12 ^th , 1947, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Raymond (Sr.) and Florence (Squires) Blank who preceded him in death.  Along with his two older sisters, Joan (Johnson) and Sharon (Oxford), the family moved to Portland and then settled in the new Seattle suburb of Shoreline, Washington.  He was known as Skip to his childhood family because of a kiddie hat from Seafair that was embroidered with 'Skipper'.

1st Movement: He attended Shoreline High School where his band director Noel Abrahamson lit a fire in him for music and set his bar high for excellence, even marching at the 1966 World's Fair with him as Drum Major.  He studied with Ron Phillips (principal clarinetist of the Seattle Symphony) and went on to the University of Washington for his undergraduate music degree, instructed by Stanley Chappel, and received his masters in conducting at Western Washington University studying with Bill Cole.  While at UW he was drum major of the Husky Marching Band, practicing halftime shows at "Pneumonia Flats", their rehearsal field.

After a brief period teaching band in Edmonds, he joined the staff at Sehome High School in 1973.  His wind ensembles performed literature that was challenging, and his jazz band was the first U.S. band to win the coveted New Westminster Jazz Competition.  Sehome is where he met his first wife, Mary Rausch, who made a family with him.  He led the bands at Sehome for ten years, inspiring many careers in music and education.

2nd Movement: About the time that his children were asking when he would be home that night from the band commitment he was racing off to, in 1983 a position opened up at Whatcom Middle School for a band director.  He spent the next 10 years there teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade band.  A highlight was performing the work Mazama, a tone poem about the creation of Crater Lake.

He then felt a need for a change and took a position teaching 7 ^th and 8 ^th grade math, something he had taught previously, until his retirement in 2006.  He lived to educate, and had a way of connecting with students and maintained relationships with many of them to this day.

Outside of teaching, Ray loved being outdoors.  He embraced the water and the land of the northwest to the fullest: family canoe trips in Barkley Sound, sailing or kayaking in the San Juan Islands, backpacking,and even climbing Mt. Baker.  As an Assistant Scoutmaster to Aaron's troop he logged many miles afoot and afloat.

His music extended well beyond the classroom, having served as principal clarinetist for the Whatcom Symphony Orchestra, the 108 Quintet, and duets with his children on piano.

3rd Movement: In retirement he took the opportunity to work on his skills as a saxophone and clarinet player. He directed the North Cascade Concert Band and Skagit Swings, and played in numerous local jazz groups and community symphonies in Skagit and Whatcom County.

He married the love of his life, Wendy LaPrade, in December 2016. They shared a love of travel, gardening and of course, music. They supported and assisted each other in their various musical pursuits. Their time together was much too short.

Finale: A celebration of his life will be held at 12:30pm on August 20th at the Squalicum Boathouse and his remains will be inurned at Hawthorne Memorial Funeral Home and Park in Mt. Vernon at a earlier date. Please visit www.hawthornefh.com to share your thoughts and memories and sign the online guest register as there will not be an open mic.  Memorial donations in his name can be made to the Western Washington University Music Department.

Ray is preceded in death by his parents, Raymond Sr and Florence (Squires) Blank. He is survived by his two older sisters, Joan (Johnson) and Sharon (Oxford), two children, Aaron and Chrissy, grandsons Spencer and Jasper, and numerous nieces and nephews.