Born in Salt lake City, Utah, August 8, 1922, the son of Rueben Andrew and Clara A. (Annie) Blaisdell and grew up in St. John and Malad City, Idaho. He married Nauvelene of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1946 and peacefully passed away on August 30, 2004 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer.

He is also survived by his wife of 58 years, Nauvelene, and sons Dr. Robert Jay, Mark Kevin, and Mikael Andrew Blaisdell; daughters-in-law Simone Brumis and Dr. Shelly Maramonte; grandsons Eric and Demetri Blaisdell, granddaughter Amaya Blaisdell; brother, James Alden Blaisdell, 93, of Fairfield; several cousins and numerous nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

He joined the U.S. Navy in September of 1942. After completing training at various bases, he was designated a Naval Aviator on November 1, 1944 and received his “Wings of Gold”. His first duty assignment was to a PBY squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. He saw service in WW2, the Korean War and during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He served on the USS Essex, Bon Homme Richard, Ticonderoga, and the Forrestal. He flew a wide range of Navy aircraft, from seaplanes to jet attack bombers and jet fighters. He was a member of VAH-2, the 1st A3D squadron to deploy on straight-deck carriers before the introduction of the angled deck design. He concluded his naval career as Operations Officer at NAS Alameda, California, retiring in 1971. He then joined Wells Fargo Bank and became the VP of Real Property Maintenance, retiring after 14 years in 1986.

A funeral service was held September 7, 2004 at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley. Interment with military honors were on Wednesday at the San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery in Gustine, California.