RIP, Blake Magner

17 October 2011 by The General Published in: Civil War books and authors 9 comments

Today, I received the sad news that my old friend Blake Magner has died. Blake did the maps for nearly half of my books, and we had a great working relationship. Blake was a Vietnam War veteran, and he was a fellow who enjoyed an adult beverage or six or seven. He could be crusty, but he was always fun to be around, and always good for a laugh.

For years, he was the book review editor for Civil War News, and I worked with him in that capacity. I also represented him and his company, CW Historicals, professionally, so I had a lot of dealings with Blake over the years.

You will be missed, old friend. Rest well. And have a beer with Brian Pohanka for me, please.

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Comments

Bernadette

Tue 18th Oct 2011 at 12:20 am
Blake always put a smile on my face. I will have many fond memories of him.
Steve Basic

Tue 18th Oct 2011 at 2:23 am
Am sorry to read this. Had met him a few times in Gettysburg at the Mine, and always enjoyed talking to him. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
Dennis

Tue 18th Oct 2011 at 4:28 am
My condolences to his familiy and friends.

Regards,
Dennis
David Navarre

Tue 18th Oct 2011 at 4:26 pm
So sorry to hear this, though I am sure he and Brian will be talking late into the night….
Ethan Rafuse

Wed 19th Oct 2011 at 11:58 am
This is sad news. I am so appreciative to Blake for the opportunities he gave me as book review editor at Civil War News.
John Foskett

Wed 19th Oct 2011 at 5:17 pm
I, too, fondly recall Blake- he invited me to be a reviewer for CWN. At one point I was assigned to review a book written by a friend and asked Blake if he wanted to reassign it. He told me that unless I had been involved in any way with the book or had helped market it, I should do the review. He then added in his own unique style that,, after all, he had himself blasted books by several friends. As eveyone else has said, he will indeed be missed.
Don

Thu 20th Oct 2011 at 3:50 pm
I had been working with Blake for the past several months on maps for a book manuscript, and he made the process enjoyable. A rookie to the process, he was very patient with my questions and submissions, albeit in a crusty and humorous fashion. I picked him because I really enjoyed his work in other books. he’ll be sorely missed.

Don
George Skoch

Thu 27th Oct 2011 at 5:34 pm
I was surprised and saddened to learn of Blake’s passing. We were acquainted and complimented one another’s map-making…even had the opportunity to share an assignment at one time. His friendly manner, skill and talents will be sorely missed.
Bob English

Thu 03rd Nov 2011 at 4:35 pm
I knew Blake between 15-20 years and discussed history, politics, people and anything else under the sun over a pint ot two. We managed to solve all the world’s problems to our own satisfaction.

He loved Gettysburg and the battlefield. It would be wonderful if friends could gather sometime in the future for a memorial in his honor.