Whitesell-Somers Family Web Project - Person Sheet
Whitesell-Somers Family Web Project - Person Sheet
NameCynthia Ann WARD 
470, Ian Marshall Blake,470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
470, Ian Marshall Blake,470, Cynthia Ann Ward BlakeBirthSep 28, 1958, Broward County, Florida470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
DeathOct 7, 1998, Guilford County, North Carolina470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
BurialCremated470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
Spouses
1“Tom” Thomas Howard BLAKE II 470, Thomas “Howard” Blake I ,470, Venaway Gore Blake,470, Thomas Howard “Tom” Blake II,470, Ian Marshall Blake,470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
470, Thomas “Howard” Blake I ,470, Venaway Gore Blake,470, Thomas Howard “Tom” Blake II,470, Ian Marshall Blake,470, Cynthia Ann Ward BlakeBirthJan 7, 1959, Guilford County, North Carolina470, Thomas Howard “Tom” Blake II
DeathOct 7, 1998, Guilford County, North Carolina470, Thomas “Howard” Blake I ,470, Thomas Howard “Tom” Blake II
BurialCremated470, Thomas Howard “Tom” Blake II
FatherThomas Howard BLAKE I (1928-2017)
MotherVenaway GORE (1932-2020)
Marriage1977470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
Obituary Online notes for Cynthia Ann WARD
Mrs. Cynthia Ann Ward Blake, loving and devoted mother, died Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998.
Mrs. Blake was born in Broward County, Fla., a daughter of the late Robert M. Ward and Dorothy (Watkins Ward) Wilson and was a graduate of the Northwest High School.
She was preceded in death by a son, Ian Blake in 1996; her husband, Thomas Howard Blake and father, Robert M. Ward.
Surviving are two sons, Adam Blake, Washington State and Benjamin Blake of the home; her mother and step-father, Dorothy W. and Robert F. Wilson of Kernersville; three sisters, Pamela Williams of Walkertown, Sarah Cummings of Hixon, Tenn. and Cheryl Stafford of Oak Ridge; and a brother, Daniel Ward of Greensboro.
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From Greensboro “News & Record”:
GRIEF AND PHYSICAL PAIN PRECEDED SHOOTING DEATHS\ BENJAMIN BLAKE IS LIVING WITH RELATIVES AND HIS BROTHER ADAM IS ON HIS WAY HOME FROM A PRIVATE SCHOOL AFTER THEIR MOTHER SHOT AND KILLED THEIR FATHER AND THEN TURNED THE GUN ON HERSELF.
(BY NANCY H. MCLAUGHLIN Staff Writer Oct 8, 1998 Updated Jan 24, 2015)
Cynthia Anne Blake's family says she was physically and emotionally frail when she shot her estranged husband seven or eight times Wednesday night and then shot herself.
At 40 years old, she was financially distraught and barely getting by on monthly Social Security disability payments, her family says. For the last 15 years she had suffered from an increasingly painful, incurable bladder disease that often left her bedridden. And she had yet to get over the death two years ago of her seemingly healthy 18-year-old son to testicular cancer.Police believe that Blake, who lived at 2096 Ashburton Drive near Oak Ridge, shot and killed Thomas Howard Blake Jr., then turned the gun on herself. Police say the two had been arguing over child support payments. When the gunfire erupted, the Blakes' youngest son, Benjamin, 12, ran to a neighbor's house and called 911, saying his mother had shot his father, according to the Guilford County Sheriff's Department. Both were found dead in the kitchen.
Neither of the Blakes had filed for divorce before their deaths, according to court records available Thursday at the Guilford County Clerk of Court's Office. In 1994, however, Cynthia Blake filed an order demanding child support from her husband, saying her children were receiving public assistance. But it appeared no further action had been taken on the order, and the file was marked inactive after three years. The Blakes had separated briefly in 1994, but had gotten back together before their son's illness, said her sister, Cheryl Stafford.
There are no previous reports of domestic violence in the Blake home, according to court records and police.
“She was not evil, they were not evil people,” Stafford said. “She was physically sick, and probably emotionally sick, too. He was not just my brother-in-law, he was like a brother.”
Blake's pain increased recently after bladder surgery that resulted in other problems, Stafford said.
“All they could do was give her something to help with the pain,” Stafford said. “There was so much on her, but she was a real good mother who took care of her children.”
Thomas Blake Jr. was a self-employed carpenter. He and Cynthia Blake married in 1977, after he graduated from Grimsley High School and she graduated from Northwest High School.
“He was a good son and he took care of his children. His wife had a lot of problems, especially with the death of their son at 18,' said Blake's father, Thomas Howard Blake, who declined further comment.
That son, Ian, a big and seemingly healthy 18-year-old, died in December 1996, 13 months after his diagnosis. The Blakes separated in the months after his death.
''It was tough on all of us,' Stafford said.
The Blakes had two other children. Benjamin, who had been living with his mother, is the youngest. He is a student at Northwest Middle School, where Thursday guidance counselors and the school's social workers met with students who were distraught or simply wanted to talk to someone after hearing the news, said principal Steven Teague.
Adam, 15, is in his first year at a private school in Washington. He was on his way back to Guilford County on Thursday.
Benjamin has been with Stafford since Wednesday. She said the family has yet to talk to Adam about where he wants to live. She said her family has spoken to her brother-in-law's family.
“We're just all real sad, there's no anger,” Stafford said. “We are trying to unite as a family to do what's best for the boys.” 470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake
Mrs. Blake was born in Broward County, Fla., a daughter of the late Robert M. Ward and Dorothy (Watkins Ward) Wilson and was a graduate of the Northwest High School.
She was preceded in death by a son, Ian Blake in 1996; her husband, Thomas Howard Blake and father, Robert M. Ward.
Surviving are two sons, Adam Blake, Washington State and Benjamin Blake of the home; her mother and step-father, Dorothy W. and Robert F. Wilson of Kernersville; three sisters, Pamela Williams of Walkertown, Sarah Cummings of Hixon, Tenn. and Cheryl Stafford of Oak Ridge; and a brother, Daniel Ward of Greensboro.
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From Greensboro “News & Record”:
GRIEF AND PHYSICAL PAIN PRECEDED SHOOTING DEATHS\ BENJAMIN BLAKE IS LIVING WITH RELATIVES AND HIS BROTHER ADAM IS ON HIS WAY HOME FROM A PRIVATE SCHOOL AFTER THEIR MOTHER SHOT AND KILLED THEIR FATHER AND THEN TURNED THE GUN ON HERSELF.
(BY NANCY H. MCLAUGHLIN Staff Writer Oct 8, 1998 Updated Jan 24, 2015)
Cynthia Anne Blake's family says she was physically and emotionally frail when she shot her estranged husband seven or eight times Wednesday night and then shot herself.
At 40 years old, she was financially distraught and barely getting by on monthly Social Security disability payments, her family says. For the last 15 years she had suffered from an increasingly painful, incurable bladder disease that often left her bedridden. And she had yet to get over the death two years ago of her seemingly healthy 18-year-old son to testicular cancer.Police believe that Blake, who lived at 2096 Ashburton Drive near Oak Ridge, shot and killed Thomas Howard Blake Jr., then turned the gun on herself. Police say the two had been arguing over child support payments. When the gunfire erupted, the Blakes' youngest son, Benjamin, 12, ran to a neighbor's house and called 911, saying his mother had shot his father, according to the Guilford County Sheriff's Department. Both were found dead in the kitchen.
Neither of the Blakes had filed for divorce before their deaths, according to court records available Thursday at the Guilford County Clerk of Court's Office. In 1994, however, Cynthia Blake filed an order demanding child support from her husband, saying her children were receiving public assistance. But it appeared no further action had been taken on the order, and the file was marked inactive after three years. The Blakes had separated briefly in 1994, but had gotten back together before their son's illness, said her sister, Cheryl Stafford.
There are no previous reports of domestic violence in the Blake home, according to court records and police.
“She was not evil, they were not evil people,” Stafford said. “She was physically sick, and probably emotionally sick, too. He was not just my brother-in-law, he was like a brother.”
Blake's pain increased recently after bladder surgery that resulted in other problems, Stafford said.
“All they could do was give her something to help with the pain,” Stafford said. “There was so much on her, but she was a real good mother who took care of her children.”
Thomas Blake Jr. was a self-employed carpenter. He and Cynthia Blake married in 1977, after he graduated from Grimsley High School and she graduated from Northwest High School.
“He was a good son and he took care of his children. His wife had a lot of problems, especially with the death of their son at 18,' said Blake's father, Thomas Howard Blake, who declined further comment.
That son, Ian, a big and seemingly healthy 18-year-old, died in December 1996, 13 months after his diagnosis. The Blakes separated in the months after his death.
''It was tough on all of us,' Stafford said.
The Blakes had two other children. Benjamin, who had been living with his mother, is the youngest. He is a student at Northwest Middle School, where Thursday guidance counselors and the school's social workers met with students who were distraught or simply wanted to talk to someone after hearing the news, said principal Steven Teague.
Adam, 15, is in his first year at a private school in Washington. He was on his way back to Guilford County on Thursday.
Benjamin has been with Stafford since Wednesday. She said the family has yet to talk to Adam about where he wants to live. She said her family has spoken to her brother-in-law's family.
“We're just all real sad, there's no anger,” Stafford said. “We are trying to unite as a family to do what's best for the boys.” 470, Cynthia Ann Ward Blake