With broken hearts, we share the passing of our beloved son Bradley David Blake, age 12, on July 26, 2026.
Bradley was the second child of Kevin Charles “KC” Blake and Sarah Jenelle Blake and the brother of Annie (13), Chris (10), and Penny (7).
Bradley was found in his bed when we went to wake him for church on Sunday morning. His cause of death remains undetermined, and our family will share more information when it becomes available. For now, we are coming to peace with the sense that Bradley’s mission on earth must have been complete and that he has moved on to adventures and responsibilities beyond this life.
Bradley was funny and adorable from day one.
Even his earliest ultrasound pictures showed sweet smiles and silly faces. He held onto his cozy nest inside Mom for eight days past his due date, then came in a huge hurry. Bradley was always in a hurry, ready to move on to the next thing. Whenever we walked or hiked, he charged ahead, always asking “what’s next?”
Annie was only 15 months old when Bradley was born, and the two of them were dearest friends and cute little troublemakers. Chris joined the family when Bradley was two, and then the brothers also became best buds. They were inseparable—always planning and plotting something, building things, playing games and video games, and finding new ways to optimize the twin loft beds in their bedroom which was truly a boy paradise of models, posters, books, and toys. Penny came along when Bradley was four, and he loved having a baby sister.
Bradley attended Virginia Hills Baptist Church Preschool, Rose Hill Elementary, homeschool during the pandemic, and Bush Hill Elementary, where he was loved and guided by many wonderful teachers and made many dear friends. Over the years, our home was also blessed by a succession of nannies and babysitters who shared their love with Bradley and broadened his world. Some brought their own children into his life, giving him even more friends to love and grow alongside.
In January 2026, we followed an impression that we needed more time together as a family and pulled our kids out of school so we could homeschool again with Aunt Rebecca Blake. Bradley was making rapid academic progress, and we will always treasure the extra time we had together as a family during what we did not know would be the final months of his life.
Even as a small boy, Bradley made friends wherever he went.
At the playground, he often organized groups of children into games of hide-and-seek and his own unique versions of tag, usually with Bradley roaring as a dinosaur while he chased everyone else. Bradley always loved babies and toddlers, and he showed real gentleness, patience, and thoughtfulness toward younger children and those with different needs. He loved his friends, thought a lot about what it meant to be a good friend, and was generous about including everybody (even younger siblings!).
Bradley was bright and curious, with an incredible memory. He loved learning about science, space, biology, and the natural world, and was always rattling off interesting facts. Whatever captured his interest, he pursued it completely. He dreamed big, considered the details large and small, mapped out a way to accomplish his plans, and began checking things off his list one at a time.
His first obsession was Hot Wheels. He was always building elaborate Hot Wheels cities, enormous tracks, train tracks, and other creations.
Then came dinosaurs and reptiles, and he absolutely planned to bring back extinct species starting with ice age animals and continuing further back in time.
Then came Minecraft, then it was Dungeons & Dragons. He hosted several D&D nights for multiple friend groups, and was working hard to become a good dungeon master. He filled pages and pages with campaigns for his friends and began making plans to write a book. He loved drawing maps, building worlds, and imagining all the characters who would live in them.
Bradley loved reptiles, insects, and every other kind of creature. He was always a little disappointed that we only let him have a dog, two cats, a snake, a chameleon (plus live crickets to feed it), a tarantula, an ant colony, and bees. We hope heaven can keep up with his insatiable demand for animals.
In the weeks before his death, Bradley had envisioned building a backyard pond where he could raise many species and create a multilayered ecosystem with an apex predator (a snake, of course).
He prepared and presented a detailed “pitch deck” presenting his nine-stage plan and a budget. His budget included a waterproof GoPro camera and a remote-controlled underwater submersible so he could move the camera through the pond and check on all his species. His vision was irresistible and his project was approved! Bradley, Chris, and Penny had already begun digging the hole.
Bradley also loved the fantasy worlds of Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Ranger’s Apprentice, Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, and The Land of Stories. After months of persuasion, he had finally convinced Chris and Penny to read Harry Potter. The week he moved on, the three of them had been having a slumber party every night and listening to the books together. We are grateful that the Harry Potter books prepared him to face anything with courage and faith in the unconquerable power of love. Those books will always be a treasure to us.
In December 2025, Bradley was ordained a deacon in the priesthood of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His deacons quorum and Young Men group included many of his best friends and older boys he admired so much. He took his weekly responsibility to pass the sacrament incredibly seriously, always insisted on tying his own necktie “like a man” and looking like a dapper dude in his blue suit, and was often the organizing force to get us to church on time.
Just a few weeks before his death, Bradley went on his first backpacking trips with his church guys. He carried in his own supplies, won their photography contest, and came home seeming much older, taller, and more confident. We will forever love the leaders who volunteered their time to create these miraculous experiences for him.
Bradley was a peacemaker, a problem solver, a helper, and a leader. He was always the first to respond, jump up, and do what needed to be done. He had a well-organized mind, limitless curiosity, and a deep desire to understand how everything worked. We have no doubt that as soon as Bradley reached heaven, he was asking how to plug into the universal mainframe of all information and truth. He thought deeply about life and death and had recently told his book club friends that he believed in heaven and that “heaven is the best of everything.”
It is impossible to make sense of losing such an incredible young man and all his potential and joy. Although we have naturally felt utter despair at his passing, our sadness is gradually being overcome by our faith in Christ and the hope of a glorious resurrection.
We know we are eternal beings and that God has an eternal plan for Bradley and our family, beyond what we can understand and envision here and now. We believe Bradley has moved on to better things and is loving us from the other side. We had him for twelve wonderful, extraordinary years. We are grateful to have no regrets and we celebrate that we loved him completely, encouraged his dreams, and made such a huge pile of memories together. His spirit will be with us forever, and we know we will be together again someday.
Bradley is survived and loved forever by his parents, KC and Sarah Blake; his siblings, Annie, Chris, and Penny; his grandparents, Dave and Sue Monson; and pets Lucy the dog, Pepsi and Sunkist the cats, and Zelda the snake.
On the Blake side, he is also survived and loved by his uncle Brian and aunt Rebecca Blake, and cousins Brandon, Trevor, Colin, and Kate; and uncle Jeff and aunt Ariana Blake.
On the Monson side, he is survived and loved by his grandparents David and Susan Monson, aunts and uncles Melea and Dean Mortensen, Eric and Wendy Monson, Marc and Rebecca Monson, and Elisabeth and Bryan Haslam; as well as 26 cousins and their spouses and children.
He will also be remembered and loved by his Young Men’s group, book club, two D&D groups, homeschool co-op, church congregation, and many, many friends.
He is preceded in death by grandparents Ray and Diane Blake, friend Peter Hatch, tarantula Hermione, chameleon Crawley Grabbers, an ant colony, and two beehives.
Services
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
6219 Villa Street, Alexandria, Virginia
Bradley Museum will also be held this evening.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
6219 Villa Street, Alexandria, Virginia
Also broadcast on Zoom and recorded.
Following a short graveside service for family and close friends.