Blake Miller Perrigo

Mr. Blake Miller Perrigo, age 82, passed away surrounded by family on Friday, February 23, 2024, at the Allegan County Medical Care Community.  Bink, as he was known throughout his life, was born to Ray Blake and Dorothy Mae (Miller) Perrigo on March 29, 1941.

In 1966, Bink began frequenting the A&W Drive-In to court one of the carhops, Marguerite Anne Truax.  Sometimes he ordered food but often only drank iced tea.  At the time, A&W didn’t serve iced tea so he brought his own jug.  The couple was married on April 29, 1967, and welcomed the birth of their son, Timothy Blake Perrigo, in April of 1969.  Tim and Traci (James) Perrigo gave him the greatest gift of all with grandchildren, Sarah Violet Perrigo and Thomas Blake Perrigo.

Bink worked at Perrigo Company for more than 30 years before retiring to be a full-time Poppie in 2003.  He served as an elder and treasurer at First Presbyterian Church of Allegan, two stints on the Allegan Public Library Board, and the Capital Fundraising Campaign Board at 4H Camp Kidwell.

Bink contracted polio in 1952 and was confined to a wheelchair and/or crutches and braces from the age of 11.  He is remembered for his ability more so than any perceived handicap.  He would regularly swim across Little John Lake as a teenager and was somewhat of a local celebrity as the guy who wheeled up and down Water Tower Hill (only occasionally with spectacular crashes.)  Evenings were spent playing baseball, basketball, and football with Tim.  He was a formidable middle-linebacker, sitting there in the grass, when Tim ran between the tackles but was apt to give up huge gains on the end-around.  He spent hours in the driveway with Sarah and Thomas playing driveway hockey and Roof Ball and was never afraid to use his wheelchair’s foot rests to his advantage.

He enjoyed travel and he and Marguerite made annual Springtime trips to the Southeast United States to see their good friends, Brad and Pauline Palmer.  Every Fall meant a color tour to the Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and favorite destinations such as Mackinaw City, Sault Ste. Marie, and their beloved getaway, The Aurora Borealis, in Skanee.  Longer trips with Marguerite included the Canadian Rockies, Nova Scotia/Newfoundland, and a trip to the Badlands and Mt. Rushmore with Tim, Traci, Sarah, and Thomas.  Bink attended 31 Detroit Jazz Festivals with Tim.

He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1965 and was a true Michigan Man.  He held season football tickets for 62 years from 1959 until 2021.  He was at Michigan Stadium when the Wolverines beat Ohio State in 1969 - the game considered by many as The Upset of The Century.  He was in attendance as Michigan won the Great Lakes Invitational Hockey Tournament nine years in a row and witnessed firsthand NCAA Frozen Four Championships in 1996 and 1998, the latter the highpoint of a trip with Tim in which they saw 13 games in ten days.  In later years, nothing brought him greater joy than sharing his love of the Wolverines with his grandkids at football games and an annual hockey weekend at Yost Ice Arena.

Bink looked forward to the Allegan County Fair each September.  For close to 40 years, he represented Perrigo Company at the 4H Livestock Auction.  He was well-known by the 4H kids and always drew a crowd as he wheeled through the barns.  He loved bidding on the animals of exhibitors whose parents’ animals he had bid on a generation before.

Other interests and hobbies included summertime grilling on his Portable Kitchen, baking cookies and roasting peanuts with Marguerite to share with friends and co-workers at Christmastime, watching Great Lake freighters, and reading Civil War History.  His collection of Santas was like no other. 

Along with his immediate family, Bink is survived by his sisters, Kay Bollinger, Ann Perrigo and (spouse) Ed Spicer; his nieces and nephews, Deb Bollinger, Maxwell Perrigo-Spicer and Emily Bristol, and Penelope “Ella” (Jeff) Davies.  He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Jeanne (Ronald) Plummer and Eilene (Hanford) Brink, brother-in-law Terry (Nancy) Brink, and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother-in-law, Jerry Bollinger; nephew, Tom Bollinger; Deb's spouse, Ron Cone; sister-in-law, Christine Brink; brother-in-law, Rob Truax; and good friend, John Boyd.

The family invites you to a Time of Sharing on Saturday, March 9, 2024, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Gorden Funeral Residence, 528 Trowbridge St., Allegan, Michigan 49010.  A private Graveside Service will have taken place prior to the gathering.

The family wants to thank the entire staff of Allegan County Medical Care Community for their loving attention to Bink over the last 14 months, the nurses at Medilodge of Westwood, and Gorden Funeral Residence for their assistance with arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations: Camp Kidwell Scholarship Fund, 39000 1st Ave., Bloomingdale, MI 49026.

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