- Date Of Birth: August 8, 1926
- Date Of Death: October 30, 2019
- State: Colorado
Robert was born on August 8, 1926 in Bemidji, Minnesota to Lawrence and Evelyn (Larkin) Blakely. He was the first of five children, followed by Kenneth, Shirley (Moty), Carolyn (Nelson), and Patricia (Logue). Robert’s family moved from Bemidji, Minnesota to Bend, Oregon at a young age and Bob always considered Bend his childhood home. After graduating from Bend High School Robert went to Oregon State University for a few years before enlisting in the Army/Air Force near the end of WWII. After being honorably discharged Robert worked his way through college with jobs at a sawmill and Hudson Grocery Store. After Oregon State he worked as a stockbroker for Heltzer Stockbrokers. This began a life long love affair with the stock market and ultimately led to discovering what he thought was a great franchise opportunity with Shakey’s Pizza. It was love at first sight. Bob loved Shakey’s food and atmosphere and thought it would make a great business. He quit his job as a stockbroker and went to his former boss who owned the grocery store he had worked for and asked for a loan of 70,000. His mentor loaned him the money because he believed Bob would do great things, as interest on the loan he requested 1 million dollars. When Bob sold his share of the franchise in 1975 he had become the largest Shakey’s Franchise owner with approximately 30 Shakey’s across multiple states. A man of his word, he also repaid his loan to his former boss……plus 1 million dollars!
Robert traveled extensively and was a resident of Lakewood, Colorado for the last 60 years. He also lived in Maui, Hawaii and Palm Desert, California
Robert is survived by his wife of 44 years, Linda, his son Pat Blakely (Nina), daughter Cherie Sutley and daughter Shannon O’Hara (Brian). He was preceded in death by his oldest son Michael Blakely in 2018.
Robert is also survived by his seven grandchildren Kylee O’Hara, Katelyn O’Hara, Patrick Blakely, Aaron Blakely, Tasha Blakely, Tia Nichol Sutley and Christine. He has one great grandchild Tristan Sutley.
In Robert’s spare time he enjoyed riding his Harley motorcycle, golfing at Lakewood Country Club and Rancho Mirage Country Club, and Wailea Golf Club, catching up on the stock market, and enjoying cocktail hour with friends on the patio. He celebrated his 70th birthday by achieving a life long goal of skydiving.
Way to go Bob!!! Now you can ride your Harley along the coast to the golf course and enjoy a great day with friends and family. May your cocktails be cold, all your stocks go up, your putts go down, and the pizza be heavenly!
