Blake William Apley, 16, of Lake City, died unexpectedly Tuesday, August 29, 2023. He was born on February 17, 2007, in Lake City to William and Jennifer (Kohrs) Apley. He attended schools in Lake City up until January of this year when he transferred to Goodhue. He would have been a junior at Goodhue High School this fall.
From the very beginning of life, Blake’s passion was working on his grandparent’s dairy farm, and he dreamed one day of being a farmer and mechanic. Blake was one of the hardest working kids you could ever meet. He had a love for animals and started his own hobby farm where he owned and raised calves, goats, chickens, ducks, and took care of his dogs; Bo, Rosie and Otis. He was well known at the local sales barns where he would enjoy buying and selling animals to add to his herd; and visiting with the local farmers. When Blake wasn’t working with his own animals, you could find him at his friends’ farm, Al and Lisa Peters where he was employed to do field and mechanic work which he loved. Blake could fix anything that had a motor and was learning quickly to become a great mechanic. Blake loved anything that had a motor and when he wasn’t working (which wasn’t very often) you might have found him riding dirt bike or snowmobile. He enjoyed trapping gophers, and hunting deer, pigeons, and squirrels. His grandpa’s John Deere 4250 tractor was his pride and joy.
Blake touched the lives of so many people and he had lots of wonderful friends, including his special friend Bri. He had a natural way of making people feel loved, wanted, and cared for. If you were in Blake’s circle, you knew you would have a forever friend who would love and defend you no matter what. He wasn’t afraid to stand up for what wasn’t right. He had one of the biggest hearts ever. He was a goof ball on the outside and was sure to make anyone laugh. Some might say he was a bit mischievous, but it was always in good fun.
For Blake, life wasn’t always easy. Under the loving heart and goofy grins was someone who struggled. Blake wasn’t always understood by everyone but to those who took the time to know him, you couldn’t help but love him. Blake will always be remembered for the love he so easily gave.
Blake will be grieved deeply by his parents, Bill and Jennifer; brother Leydon and sister Daelyn; his maternal grandparents, Keith and Deb Kohrs; paternal grandmother, Marlene Apley and maternal great grandparents, Jim and Mary Wallerich all of Lake City. He is also survived by his aunts and uncles, Lorie and Denny Schott of Goodhue, Vicky and Kenny Dohrn, Jessica and Matt Kehren, and Jeremy and Amanda Kohrs all of Lake City. He had many cousins who loved him including Shawn, Zac, Brian, Jackie, Mike, Matt, Missy, Maranda, Natalie, Noah, Mason, Tyler, Madeline, Mackenzie, and Connor; and many more loving family members. He will also be missed by his many friends who loved and cared about him. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Harold Apley; maternal great grandparents, Emery and Ruth Kohrs; great-cousins Shanna McDonnell and Rosalie Hoffman; and other loving family members.
Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, September 9, 2023, at First Lutheran Church in Lake City with burial to follow at St. John’s Cemetery. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. to the time of the service on Saturday at the church. A celebration of life will immediately follow the burial at the Sportsman Club in Lake City. Memorials are preferred to the Peters Memorial Fund, petersmemorialfund.org. Arrangements are by the Mahn Family Funeral Home, Anderson-Peterson Chapel in Lake City.
