S. Prestley Blake

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S. Prestley Blake
Born Stewart Prestley Blake
(1914-11-26)November 26, 1914
Jersey City, New Jersey
Died Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day
Stuart, Florida
Nationality United States
Occupation Restaurateur
Years active 1935–1979
Known for Co-founder of the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation
Relatives Curtis Blake (brother)

Betsy Blake Melvin (sister) Helen D. Blake (wife) Benson P. Blake (son)

Nancy Blake Yanakakis (daughter)

Stewart Prestley Blake (November 26, 1914 – February 11, 2021), known as S. Prestley Blake, was an American restaurateur. He was a co-founder of the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation (known more commonly as "Friendly's").

Early life

Blake was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, on November 26, 1914. He had two brothers (Curtis Blake and Hollis, who died at the age of two) and one sister (Betsy Melvin). Their father, Herbert Prestley Blake, was employed by Standard Electric Time Company; their mother, Ethel (Stewart) Blake, was a car enthusiast who inspired her sons' interest in vehicles.[1] Blake was raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, and attended Northfield Mount Hermon School. He went on to study at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.[2] However, he dropped out after one year and moved back to Springfield in order to start Friendly's with his brother Curtis.[1]

Career

Blake and his younger brother, Curtis L. Blake (1917–2019),[3][4][5][6] founded the Friendly's national restaurant chain in 1935, during the Great Depression. Blake was chairman of the company until 1979, when he sold it to The Hershey Company for approximately US$164 million.[1] It was sold once more in 1988 to entrepreneur Donald N. Smith for US$375 million.[7][8] The company's name was shortened to simply "Friendly's".[1]

Blake continued to own shares in Friendly's, but took a hands-off approach with regards to its corporate affairs. However, the company's significant debt load at the end of the 1990s, coupled with what he regarded as poor management, led him to purchase shares in the company that resulted in him becoming the largest shareholder (with a 12% stake). He came into conflict with Smith about the direction of Friendly's and feuded with him publicly. At one point, Blake and his brother were not on speaking terms, and Curtis even blamed him for meddling in an opinion piece in The Republican. They ultimately reconciled before Curtis' death in 2019.[1]

In 1980, Blake earned a PhD at Western New England College, and one in 1982 at Springfield College. He held honorary PhD degrees from Bay Path College, Quinnipiac College, and Elms College.[9] In 2006 he was minority shareholder in Friendly's.[10] On May 1, 2011, Brigantine Media[11] published Blake's autobiography, A Friendly Life,[12] which describes the early years of Friendly Ice Cream Company as well as Blake's shareholder suit.[13]

Philanthropy

The S. Prestley Blake Law Center is the home of Western New England University's School of Law (he had donated $250,000 for it in 1979).[14] The Blake Student Center at Northfield Mount Hermon School is also named after him.[15] He donated $2 million to Springfield College in 2006 and had Wilbraham Hall renamed as Herbert P. Blake Hall in honor of his father.[16][17]

Blake celebrated his centenary in 2014 by constructing a copy of Monticello to modern-day standards in Somers, Connecticut.[1] It was auctioned two years later for approximately US$2.1 million.[1][18] He donated his other property in Somers to Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. The college in turn created the Blake Center for Freedom and Faith.[19]

Personal life

Blake's first marriage was to Della Deming.[1] Together, they had two children: Benson P. Blake and Nancy Yanakakis.[1][20] They later divorced, and his subsequent marriage to Setsu Matsukata also ended in divorce.[1] His third marriage was to Helen Davis, and they remained married until his death.[19][21] He turned 100 in November 2014.[22]

Blake died on February 11, 2021 at a hospital in Stuart, Florida. He was 106, and suffered from respiratory failure prior to his death.[1][19]

References

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  9. ↑ Who's Who in America: 1996, Volume 3
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