First Baptist Academy, 2004 Graduation Class Members

Hi, my name is Lori Ann Blakeley.

Welcome to my Web site developed and maintained on my behalf by my father, Larry Blakeley. http://www.royblakeley.name/larry_blakeley/larryblakeley_photos_jpeg.htm

My father also manages the following Web sites:

Larry Blakeley (Contact Info: larry at larryblakeley.com)

Major Roy James Blakeley (USAF - KIA) (December 10, 1928 - July 22, 1965) - my grandfather

Leslie Blakeley Adkins - my older sister

Evan Blakeley- my younger brother

A Web page for giving notices of interest to visitors here. http://www.loriblakeley.name/notices_of_interest.htm

Various letters and notes here. http://www.loriblakeley.name/various_notes_letters.htm

What my brother, Evan Blakeley is up to with his baseball. http://www.evanblakeley.name

My mother's walking club for the students at Cockrell Hill Elementary School, DeSoto, Texas http://www.loriblakeley.name/article_dallas_morning_news_jackie_blakeley20070601.htm

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I ain't too young to know
That life has its highs and lows
And things won't always turn out
Quite like how I think
And though I have much to learn
To weather the twists and turns
I know that I'm capable
To deal with what life brings me ...

(Lori was right. She ultimately dealt with her short future with the dignity and courage that sent chills down my back. Yes, Lori was a "Daddy's girl." In fact I remember well a school mate humored by Lori referring to me as "Daddy" while others had evolved to just referring to their father as "Dad." She truly was innocent, loving, and humble with a heart that remained true to who she was all the way to her last breath. She never wavered from this. She never complained. She never questioned God's plan for her. She never questioned, "Why me? I'm not finished here." Her strength and devotion to His will only increased and this is really what I have tried to convey to others with her Web site. One day after her unsuccessful surgery at The National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland she held her arms out for me and said, "My Daddy." I melted in her soft embrace and will remember this loving experience as long as I live. - Lori's Daddy)

You've given me courage to be a person of dignity
You've been my example
I've been blessed to have you

But your faith is strong (But I know you can see in me -
I can't stand alone. I can't stand on my own two feet)
Don't be afraid to send me (don't you be afraid to send me safely)
I need you to believe in me

I'm strong I'm ready to be on my own
Let me spread my wings, let me go
Don't hold so tight
Cause I can fly alone ...

I need you to trust me
Have faith and let me make it on my own
Please let me, your baby, go

Lori wrote the following verses quoted in 1 Corinthians 13 with a dry erase marker on her mirrored door to her bedroom closet. She also highlighted these verses in her Bible. http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_bible_1corinthians_13.djvu

Write it down a thousand times
for a little word that makes me cry.
How I feel about it I can't decide.
No, I don't know, so I'll improvise.
Is it living in our heart or in our mind?
I don't know.

So world, ready or not, here I go
searching for the answer.
And I'm not gonna stop til I find
where it lives inside me.
How does it come to be?
What should it mean to me?
Teach me the definition of true love.

I was so afraid I'd never succeed,
but you made me feel I could do anything.
Memorize the things you would say and do.
Must be loving the strength that I found in you.
Is it living in our heart or in our mind?
I don't know...

Love's not wrong.
It feels good.
True love always believes
and it begins without major risk.
Gonna sacrifice unconditionally...

"Lori Loves (a heart symbol) Jesus" here http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_bible_love_jesus.djvu written on her Bible http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_bible_NIV_end.djvu that was given to her by her Dad http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_bible_dad.djvu

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs ....

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

- 1 Corinthians 13 http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?book_id=53&chapter=13&version=31

Lori's poster board collage for her 2004 high school graduation. This was 22" in height and 28" in length that I had photographed by BWC Photo Imaging http://www.bwc.net into a scanned 127 MB uncompressed "TIF" image on April 18, 2005 then converted it to a "JPEG" image for posting to her Web site. For some reason Lori did not want it posted to her Web site at that time, so I didn't - young adults are sometimes funny about that sort of thing.

Lori's other photographs http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_photos_jpeg/loriblakeley_other_photographs.htm

Note: There were other classmates who had a chance to visit Lori during her illness. Those that I recall were Ashley Devling, Jordan Blacketer, Kristen Deahl, Chrissy Farell, Christa Howard, Jonathon Martinez, Paige Perry, Jonathon Poage, and Kristen Smuland. Lori received many sweet cards from her classmates. I will post an image of each of these cards in due time.

They shine a little brighter.
They feel a little more.
They touch your life in ways no one has ever done before.
They love a little stronger.
They live to give their best.
They make our lives so blessed.
So why do they go so soon -
the ones with souls so beautiful?
I heard someone say,
"There must be borrowed angels here in this life.
They come along into this world
and make this world bright.
But they can't stay forever
'cause they're Heaven sent
and sometimes Heaven needs them back again."

They reach a little deeper
to see what's in your soul.
And even when they leave, you know,
you'll never let them go.
The world's a little richer
just 'cause they came along.
Their love goes on and on.
So why do they go so soon -
the ones with souls so beautiful?
I heard someone say,
"There must be borrowed angels here in this life.
They come along into this world
and make this world bright.
But they can't stay forever
'cause they're Heaven sent
and sometimes Heaven needs them back again."

How else can you explain
why they're here and not here to stay?
I believe there must be, must be,
borrowed angels here in this life.
They come along into this world
and make this world bright.
But they can't stay forever
'cause they're Heaven sent
and sometimes Heaven needs them back again.
Sometimes Heaven needs them back again.

- "Borrowed Angels" MP3 Audio/Lyrics http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_music/borrowed_angels.htm

"Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin' by

We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around ....

Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence ..."

- "The End of the Innocence," MP3 Audio/Lyrics http://www.loriblakeley.name/loriblakeley_music/end_of_innocence.htm

Savannah Eklund
The following ribbon was attached to a birthday gift placed by Savannah Eklund on Lori's gravesite for her 20th birthday (June 20, 2005).