S. Prestley Blake has died . He was a successful businessman, a generous philanthropist, an avid car collector, and a true gentleman.
Along with his younger brother, he was the co-founder of Friendly's restaurants. He was 105.
I had the very good fortune of meeting Mr. Blake when he hosted the wedding of my wife's cousin at his home. In addition to sharing his beautiful estate with the family for the day, when he learned that I was a car guy, he gave me full access to a multi level barn style garage filled with two dozen beautiful Rolls Royce vehicles, ranging from the very earliest to the most recent. I remember reading about him in Autoweek, when he hosted events for the Rolls Royce Owner's Club there.
Around the perimeter of the property, he had built a number of small guest cottages, each one in a different style; a log cabin, a chalet, a pagoda, a schoolhouse, etc., and let us explore each one at our leisure, including the Penney Cottage, which according to the plaque, was built in honor of "my great friend J.C. Penney".
Our budgets were on vastly different planes, but he was One of Us.
Goodbye, Mr. Blake.
