Daniel William Blake

Daniel W. Blake passed away on August 27, 2025. He was born January 10, 1952 to William and Marjorie (Kappell) Blake.

Dan succumbed to cancer after a short, but hard-fought battle with the dreaded disease. After two tours in Vietnam, he began working at Presto Products and soon after, was married and became a father. Dan loved his work in the Blown Film industry. First as reaching the level of Production Supervisor at Presto Products (for 23 years) and then as Vice President of Manufacturing at Wisconsin Film and Bag, until his retirement in 2022. Dan reached the pinnacle of his profession on October 29, 2013; when he received a United States Patent for creating a method for processing a supply of post-consumer scrap into near virgin quality blown film product.

Dad loved coaching Little League baseball on the southeast side of Appleton, long after his sons were done playing and moved on. As a coach he won the Appleton City Tournament multiple times, as well as the Lions Division. In 1989 and 1991, Dan coached the Lions Division All-Star teams to the State Championship, playing in Baxter Springs, Kansas, and Indianapolis, Indiana, respectively.

While Dan's favorite sport was baseball, every weekend in the fall, he could be found watching the Green Bay Packers. No matter how frustrating they were to watch during the Bart Starr, Forrest Gregg, and Lindy Infante days, he would still watch intensively. Dan greatly enjoyed talking sports with his sons Tim and Jamie. So much so, that after Tim's team (Duke) or Jamie's team (Notre Dame) got beat, Dan would call and simply say, "What happened last night? I want answers."

Dan loved nothing more than his kids and grandkids! He is survived by children: Tim, Daniel (Jamie), Eric, Mike and Jessica and grandchildren: Christian, Quintin, Kaitlyn, Lily, Neveah, Payton and Seth. Dan is further survived by his wife, Diane (Fritsch); stepchildren Jerry Giese and Jason Giese; brothers Richard and Tom, and sister Lori. Dan was preceded in death by his grandfather Oscar, his grandmother Sylvia, loving mother Marjorie, and sisters Sandra and Linda. Dan loved each of the players he coached during his extensive time coaching Bank One and the countless All-Star teams.

Per Dan's request, there will be a small, family gathering to celebrate his life.

A special thank you to all the doctors and nurses from Theda Care who took care of our Dad while he was hospitalized during the last month of his life as he battled throat cancer. As well as a special thank you to his son Tim's employer (Stainless Piping Specialists) and daughter Jessica's (Valley VNA) so they could spend countless hours with their dad during his hospitalization, as well as son-in-law, Pelota Bonilla, who never left Dan's side in his time of need.

"You can't beat the person who never gives up." -Babe Ruth