WESTERN MASS – Not many people can claim to have had a major impact on the places that helped shape them and that meant a lot to them during their lifetime, but S. Prestley Blake, the Friendly Ice Cream Corporation co-founder who died on Feb. 11, left a philanthropic legacy that will last for generations.

Blake, who lived to 106, and his wife Helen Blake, have spent decades supporting schools, communities and other institutions through financial donations. Several of the beneficiaries of their wealth have named buildings and athletic facilities in the Blakes’ honor as a result.

Raised in Springfield, Blake, who was known as “Pres,” attended Northfield Mount Hermon School in Franklin County. After he and his brother, Curtis Blake, made their fortunes with their restaurant, known locally as “Friendly’s,” Blake decided to give back to Northfield Mount Hermon School. Beginning with a $2 donation five years after he graduated, Blake donated more than $1 million to the school over the years. Blake Hall is named for him, as is Blake House, a faculty home and the school’s snack bar, the “Pres Box.”

“In 1980, he established the Thomas Donovan Prize for Excellence in Ninth Grade English to honor his former teacher, who Pres described as ‘one of the most effectively strict teachers [Mount Hermon] ever had and he was greatly loved at the same time,’” the school said in a press release.

The Blakes created the Herbert Blake Chair faculty fellowship, named for Blake’s father, and the Helen and Prestley Blake ’34 Endowed Scholarship Fund. He also helped establish the Elliott Speer Memorial Fund, in honor of the headmaster of the school during his time there.

“I had the good fortune of meeting Pres in my earliest days at NMH. I imagine that I had the same reaction to him that so many others have: He was a man of profound conviction,” said Head of School Brian Hargrove. “Pres loved Northfield Mount Hermon. He spoke lovingly of the teachers and coaches who impacted him, and he honored them with his words and his deeds. He was a champion and a force for good at NMH and beyond – a model for us all to aspire to.”

Other academic institutions also benefited from Blake’s generosity. Springfield College, which Helen Blake attended, was one such institution of high learning.  
“Pres was a humanitarian who lived our Humanics philosophy,” said Springfield College President Mary-Beth Cooper. “The generosity of the Blakes is visible on college campuses throughout our area, and especially at Springfield College. One of their more recent contributions was in 2006, when a $2 million donation was made to rename the former Wilbraham Hall as Herbert P. Blake Hall, in honor of Pres’s late father.” The building had formerly been the Standard Electric Time building, where his father worked.

In 1973, Blake gave toward the Physical Education Complex, where Blake Field was named for him. Additionally, his wife has been a member of the College’s Board of Trustees for 20 years and chair of various committees.

“We cannot express the sadness we feel at this time. Personally, I will always remember Pres as a kind man, a good friend, and one who was always so full of energy,” said Cooper, who counted herself among Blake’s friends. “I loved his energy. He had what the students call ‘fear of missing out.’ He had serious FOMO.”

Of the Blakes’s generosity, Cooper told Reminder Publishing, “They give for the right reasons and they invest. It’s about investing in things you believe in, and they believed in us. They’re simple people who care about communities.”

At another Springfield school, Western New England University (WNEU), Blake gave $250,000 to the new law school.

“We are proud that our law facility bears his name, and that the Blake Law Center affords our students the opportunity to learn in an exceptional academic setting,” said WNEU President Robert E. Johnson. The Blakes have collectively given over $1 million to WNEU.

“Pres’s legacy goes well beyond the School of Law and is characterized by philanthropy that has helped to build and sustain the greater Springfield community. Our law school, university and region have lost a friend,” said Sudha Setty, dean and professor of law and WNEU.

The focus of Blake’s philanthropy was not just academic, however. In January, the Blakes donated $200,000 to the Longmeadow Community Adult Center, currently nearing completion. The funding will be used to pay for structural enhancements and furniture, said Marybeth Bergeron, chair of the Longmeadow Adult Community Center Fund. The gymnasium will be named for the Blakes to mark the donation.

“Clearly, we were very saddened to hear of his passing,” said Bergeron. “He and his wife, Helen, were longtime fixtures in Longmeadow.” Of the Blakes's donation, Bergeron said, “I think today, with COVID, more people are aware of isolation and I think everybody recognizes the need for our seniors to engage in programs. I think the Blakes recognized that.”

Another major donation came in 2019, when the Blakes gave the Saint Francis Foundation $10 million, for an ambulatory care center at Johnson Memorial Hospital’s Enfield campus. It was the largest single donation the hospital has received, said Mary Orr with Trinity Health Of New England, Johnson Memorial Hospital’s parent company.

“Prestley’s donation to the Saint Francis Foundation remains unmatched. It transformed the medical care that Johnson Memorial Hospital was able to offer its community, and we remain incredibly grateful for Prestley’s vision and unbridled commitment to leaving his neighbors and community in good hands,” said Reginald Eadie, president and CEO of Trinity Health Of New England. “His loss is one that we all mourn.”