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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.

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Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2009 > July > 06 > Entry

Blake LaForce Funeral Arrangements

By Tom Archdeacon | Monday, July 6, 2009, 08:20 AM

Funeral arrangements have been set for Blake LaForce, the 18 year former football star at Vandalia High, who died Friday, July 3 after a courageous 19-month medical battle with leukemia and the complications that followed.

The family will receive friends at the Christian Life Center, 3489 Little York Road from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday at the church with Pastor Stan Tharp & Pastor Charlie Carroll officiating. Interment will be at Memorial Park Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Leukemia Lymphoma Society or the Blake LaForce No. 41 Memorial Fund in care of National City Bank, Vandalia in Blake’s memory. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Marker & Heller Funeral Homes, Huber Heights Chapel.

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Here’s more on Blake from a story I wrote that appeared in Sunday’s newspaper:

Blake LaForce — the 18-year-old former Vandalia High football star and state power lifting champion who rallied a town, a school and tens of thousands of other people as he fought his way through a herculean medical battle the past 19 months — has died.

Surrounded by his family, he passed away around 2 p.m. Friday afternoon, July 3, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

“It was time,” Mark LaForce, his dad said Saturday afternoon. “I kissed him on his lips one last time, told him how much we all loved him and how proud we were of him and he went to meet his Creator.”

Initially diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblast Leukemia (ALL) in November of 2007, Blake underwent a successful born marrow/stem cell transplant in May of 2008 and seemed on the road to recovery last summer.

But in mid-August, he developed toxoplasmosis, a devastating infection in the central nervous system, that, as Mark put it, “shut down all his motor skills. All of a sudden he could no longer walk, talk, eat or drink. It’s been that way since.”

Even so, Blake had been slowly working his way back from that when, this past March 26, he had a pulmonary hemorrhage — bleeding lungs — and had been in the intensive care unit since then as he dealt with a series of medical issues. The latest was a severe problem with his ever-fragile skin.

Mark — who has written a daily journal about his son since the ordeal began (www.CaringBridge.org/visit/blakelaforce/journal) — described it in his July 2 entry:

“The skin is our largest organ and this is the major issue we have now. It happened upon him rapidly this week. Blake’s skin is almost like a burn victim’s skin now, so the risk of infection increases. It is another one of God’s miracles because Blake is actually very stable and not even on any pain medications, which is unbelievable. There are what seems an endless number of hurdles on Blake’s journey and we are in awe of his stamina, true grit and resolve….”

After Blake’s death Friday, Mark wrote: “The LaForce family is at peace and and rejoicing the fact that our strong son has a new everlasting life in a much better place.

“No more suffering, sorrow and pain.”

He then singled out TEAM BLAKE, the family members, friends Butler classmates and strangers who had taken up Blake’s’ cause over the past year and a half:

“We do not know how to thank you. Stay the course Blake started for us because he was a good servant and is (still) making a difference.”

To his son, he wrote:

“Dearest Blake, Mission Accomplished, Son. We will see you again and you are with us every minute of every day. Your smile and personality is etched in our minds forever. You are the ‘man’ in this family and have showed all of us the way. We love you so very much now and forever.”

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