OBITUARY FROM WHITE-LOVE FUNERAL HOME (CHESTERTON, IN) WEBSITE:
Darryl Blink Obituary
Darryl Blink, Aged 84 of Valparaiso, IN passed away peacefully on July 21, 2025.
Darryl was born on August 8, 1940 to Arthur and Shirley (Anderson) Blink, both of whom preceded him in death.
Also preceding him in death was his first wife of 58 years, Joan (Phelps) and his brother Ronald.
Darryl is survived by his wife Margaret “Peggy” Trowbridge-Blink, whom he wed on June 26, 2021. He is also survived by his loving children, Paul (Debbie) Blink and Christine (Greg) DePorter of Ogden Dunes, IN; his adoring grandsons Alex DePorter and Reagan (Kate) DePorter; two great-grandsons, Levi and James DePorter; and his sister Melody VanGorp of Griffith, IN.
After graduating from college Darryl began working at Hobart High School where he taught Social Studies for 32 years. He was known to occasionally take his students spelunking in Bloomington, IN. His love for caves led him to spend 3 summers working as a Park Ranger at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.
Darryl worked as a seasonal Park Ranger at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore from 1971-1996. The Dunes further inspired his love for flowers, trees and nature in general. He led numerous hikes, spent many years working at the Maple Sugar Festival and even helped map the areas and plot many trails in the Bailly Homestead, Chellberg Farm and Indiana Dunes West Beach.
Fortunately, Darryl and Joan were able to retire at an early age and moved to their favorite place – the Northwoods of Wisconsin. They built a home on Pickerel Lake and spent 20 years fishing year ‘round, woodworking, gardening, and traveling. Darryl also worked for 10 years at the St. Germain Golf Club so he could continue playing golf.
Darryl was a man of many hobbies, in addition to everything else, he earned his pilot’s license at the age of 55. He was a potter, avid reader, “Mr. Fix-it”, a history buff and serious Jeopardy watcher. He was a Cubs fan, IU fan and passionate photographer.
Some of his greatest joys came from spending time with his twin grandsons, Alex and Reagan. They created many fond memories fishing, playing cars and fixing things together.
For 50 years Darryl and Joan were friends with Perry and Peggy Trowbridge. After their spouses passed, the long-term friendship between Darryl and Peggy led to love. They were married in June 2021 and had 4 special years together.
Darryl will be missed by all who knew him. He was a gentle, quiet man with an incredible memory and a big heart.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, August 2 at Open Bible Church, 1401 W. Porter Avenue, Chesterton, IN. Visitation from 10:30 to Noon, followed immediately by the memorial service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to Open Bible Church, 1401 W Porter Ave, Chesterton, IN 46304.
Professional arrangements are entrusted to White-Love Funeral Home, Chesterton, IN. Please share your wonderful memories with the family at: www.whitelovefuneralhome.com.
This information and the picture below were obtained from: https://www.whitelovefuneralhome.com/obituary/Darryl-Blink. The picture above was obtained from the 1967 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1967Images/.
