Dartmouth residents are being asked to give their support in renaming Montebello Park after a sailor who was killed in Afghanistan.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Blake, 37, was killed on May 3, 2010 by an improvised explosive device while working in the Panjwai District.
He had only been in the country for a few weeks when he was killed.
"I spoke to him just hours before he died," said his widow Priscilla Blake. "And when I saw the cars pull up outside our house the next day, and military personnel were coming to our door, I thought he had just been injured."
The Blake family often visited the Montebello Park on Appian Way, near their home.
"Craig would throw the ball around with our sons Cain and Tie there. He would ride his bike. It was a place he really loved to go to."
Blake and her family applied and received approval last summer to use Craig Blake's name for a street or a park, through HRM's commemorative names program.
"We knew we wanted his name used on something close by. I mentioned it to Councillor Darren Fisher and now he is starting a project to call it the Craig Blake Park."
Blake says her husband was a very focused and dedicated man. He was a member of the fleet diving unit, a marathoner who used to run and ride his bike to work everyday.
"He was very physically fit and believed in challenging our sons to live life to the fullest. Whenever he would go off to do his crazy, athletic things I would smile and be proud. That was his thing."
But now Blake has made athletics her thing too.
She doesn't want her sons to be afraid to try new things.
"I have been involved in bike-a-thons, running and have just applied to be on Canada's Amazing Race. I have embraced the spirit of who Craig was."
Fisher says Blake is missed everyday by those who cared for him.
"He died for his country in Afghanistan, leaving behind a wonderful wife and family and a very large group of friends. He was a Dartmouth Whalers hockey coach, a great father, a tri-athlete and a very committed community volunteer."
Fisher wants to resurface the tennis courts at the park and possibly get new bleachers for the soccer field.
"The more letters of support about this plan to name the park after Craig Blake the better. People stating that they are from the area is a bonus, as the support we receive from the direct community is very important."
To offer your support in favour of renaming Montebello Park in honour of Craig Blake please write to Fisher at darren.fisher@halifax.ca
