I remember working in Bellevue back in the early 2000’s and Blake would come into the store and would walk the floors talking to people and getting to know staff. One evening I was working in customer service and Blake came up – looking at me holding this big bag of gift cards and asked me what I was doing. I explained I was refreshing all of the cash wraps and he asked if he could join me. He walked through the entire store talking to me about life, how I felt at Nordstrom. As a young guy who had only been with the company for a short time I was really nervous, but at the end I felt so humbled that he would take the time to get to know some random employee working in the stores. He even remembered me in the future when at Rec Meetings and when I would see him occasionally in the hall ways.

Blake was an inspirational leader and will truly be missed – I hope his family knows that he had such a positive impact on so many lives and we are so thankful for him!

Rest in peace Blake

Michael Brand