Kenneth Blase:
CLASS OF 1972
Augustinian AcademyClass of 1972
St. louis, MO
Kenneth's Story
I graduated from high school in 1972 and moved to Nashville, TN in 1980 from St. Louis when in my twenties when I was a hospital laboratory supervisor into a new profession of a DuPont medical instrument service engineer supporting chemistry instrumentation in hospitals. I decided to continue my education part time studying biochemistry, biomedical electronics, and medicine while working full-time as a service engineer. Frequently I would be involved in resolving non typical and system issues for 14 years till an illness forced me to rest. Transferred to Wilmington, Delaware after recovering from my health issues. Attained graduate degrees in clinical chemistry and biomedical electronics after moving to Wilmington Delaware. Time spent interacting with my niece and nephews when in my forties when I was healing, changed analytic investigative problem solver, into an uncle who communicated, rather than just debated with them. I retired after forty years of finding answers for Medical Diagnostics Companies and hospitals in the summer of 2017 at 63. My days with two cell phones and a beeper on my belt, 24 hours a day, ended. In retirement, I have continued to volunteer as a mentor in college for students and have continued activity in clinical medical research. It is my turn to give a hand to the next generation, as a hand was given to me. My piano studies have continued since grade school, which has given me opportunities to be invited to play with three orchestras. Let me tell you a secret. All pianists sound good with an orchestra backing them up. Had opportunity to travel for work but also with family and friends to many locations after moving to Wilmington including Alaska, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Argentina, Bahamas, Ireland Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and many locations in continental United States. An increase in my frequent flyer points occurred but I also gained a better understanding of other people. December 2013 had the chance to walk across part of the Iguazu Falls in South America while on vacation. April 27, 2014, while I was visiting a music student from Philadelphia studying in Italy, we both had the opportunity to be present at Pope John and John Paul canonization in the Vatican. September 2015 greeted Pope Francis when he visited the United States. The education I received from my family, Augustinian Academy, St Louis University, and schools in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Nashville with my life experiences has allowed me the opportunity to help people around the world. Volunteering activities have continued to keep me busy and gives my life meaning. Performing as an amateur magician at children's hospitals over the years allows me to perform the special magic trick of returning the smiles to their...Expand for more
faces, even if it is only because they are laughing at me because I messed up the trick being performed. The privilege each Sept and Feb to take a transatlantic flight to Paris has continued, where I act as a resource in their medical workshops. I was told many times over the years that I was educated but never intimidated while I taught others. My teaching skills came from my parents and my college instructor’s examples. Walks in the local parks and forest keep me healthy and happy in retirement. Troubleshooting and testing software is a hobby which keeps my mind sharp. I continue to be an active member of the Knights of Columbus and am active member in disaster relief activities which keeps me engaged.
Attended in 2018 my 50th grade school reunion in St. Louis and in 2019 attended the ninetieth anniversary celebration of the MT/CLS/MLS program at Saint Louis University. May of 2019 traveled to Loreto, Italy and Zaragoza, Spain, and Geel, Belgium to take part in a retreat which I co-lead with four other individuals from different countries who were healed from diseases which should have ended our lives. In my case three inoperable brain tumors I had for three years disappeared the day after Christmas. When we each first met in spring of 2010, the one thing we all had in common was that we all were saying, “Thank You” daily for the gift of health we each received. An adventure to travel in Feb of 2020 gave me the chance to explore Mozart's home in Salzburg, Austria after participating in a medical convention in Paris. I walked the same hills described in the music of Sound of Music, which was based on the Von Trapp family who lived near Salzburg. Summer of 2020 accomplished for the first time to walk the outside perimeter of a complete country. I have taken this stroll many times since then. Sounds like an accomplishment but the Vatican's perimeter is only a little over two miles. Fr Perez in high school allowed me to discover on my own slowly that working in chemistry was a possibility. I now have the opportunity to work with staff in the largest children hospital in Europe after retiring from being a system technical consultant to finding answers when biomedical electronics, clinical chemistry, and hospital procedures designed to diagnosis diseases are not as helpful as they are expected to be to medical staff to care for patients. The only individual in a hospital is the patient; everyone else is a member of the health care team.
Fr Gavin was kept informed of many of my accomplishments and my challenges by my parents. All the prayers for me being answered produced the results you read about.
I am no longer the shyest individual in the room, as I was in high school.
I learned that progress is measured by forward motion, not by speed. of that motion.
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