Guy Blase had a laugh that filled a room and a handshake that made you an instant friend. Enthusiasm was his hallmark and his trademark wit was a window to his enormous intellect. Guy was an inspiration to anyone who spent time with him during his courageous, three-year stand-off with prostate cancer to which he peacefully succumbed on July 5.

Guy grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Glendale , Missouri where he was voted "Most Popular" at Kirkwood High School. After earning a BA from Northwestern University he was drafted into the Navy during the Korean War in 1952, where he served as a Lieutenant, JG aboard the USS Hamner until the war ended in 1953.

Guy married Noel Mirandon in La Jolla , California . After receiving his law degree from Stanford University in 1958, he and Noel settled down to raise a family in Portola Valley, where he served two terms as the town’s fire commissioner, and helped launch the esteemed Portola Valley Polo Club (PVPC). He also belonged to the Mounted Patrol, and Los Rancheros Visitadores.

In 1965, Guy and his law partners founded Spaeth, Blase, Valentine and Klein (now Ritchey, Fisher, Whitman & Klein.) Specializing in corporate law ("I made my living writing letters," he said), he remained a partner with the firm until he retired.

In 1995, a year after Noel's death, he met Bobbi Linkletter, whom he married in 1997. Guy and Bobbi's home became a nexus of family life for their children and grandchildren, who celebrated the joining together of "Grandpa Guy and Bobbi." They also shared a passion for art. They were members of the Fellows of Contemporary Art and enjoyed art tours in places as diverse as Berlin and Pittsburgh .

Guy's love of golf (he played the Stanford links almost daily) was matched by his desire to be of service to his friends and community. He served on the Board of the Children's Health Council and the Community Working Group of Palo Alto . Guy was a member of the Peninsula Interfaith Action for which he recently received a Community Hero award representing All Saints Episcopal church. He was a member of the Stanford Associates, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, and Stanford Center for Conflict and Negotiation. He helped found the Santa Clara County Bar Association. Guy chaired the anniversary fund drive held by his law school’s graduating class five years ago. He was also the Palo Alto Club’s Treasurer in 2002 and served as the club’s President up to the time of his death.

Guy is survived by his wife Bobbi, two daughters, Cece Blase, her husband James Fleischman of Alameda and daughter Maia Johnson; Leslie Lodestro, husband James, three grand children, Danny, Sam and Henry Lodestro, Los Altos and sister Joan Goodson, St. Louis .