A Tribute to Don Blackerby 

As many of you know, NLP and IASH have lost an incredible friend, resource and leader. Don Blackerby passed away on, November 26, 2009 in Oklahoma City OK.

 

For the last 30 years, Don ran his own consulting company, Success Skills, Inc., enriching the lives of many people and specializing in the application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to the learning process and helping struggling students of all ages. His book, Rediscover the Joy of Learning, was published in 3 languages and sold worldwide. Over his life Don served in leadership roles for a number of organizations including the NLP Institute of Oklahoma and the Institute for the Advanced Studies of Health (IASH). Don was currently serving as Co-President of the Board of Trustees for IASH

 

Don was passionate about the future of IASH. Thanks to his vision, a structure for recruiting volunteers for doing the work of IASH was put into place at the 2008 conference, resulting in groups of volunteers from around the world working in the areas of membership, finance, internet services, and planning for the 2010 conference.

 

More recently, Don was developing an action plan for carrying out the IASH mission. His plan was to recruit a cadre of IASH members who would take responsibility for collecting NLP Demonstration Projects and/or Anecdotal Reports from practitioners of NLP.  These projects or reports would be about specific applications of NLP to problems which had been inhibiting the healthy reaction of an individual or group. The leaders in this cadre would be called “Personal Interest Mentors.” The IASH Board was already working to implement Don’s plan and are committed to a formal launch of the “Personal Interest Exploration Groups” in the next few months.

Many of you have sent condolences, stories and memories of Don that you hold dear. The IASH Board of Trustees would like to provide a place for sharing those messages with Don’s family, as well as the IASH and NLP Communities.   We invite you share your tributes to Don in the comments section of this article

 

Here are two messages and there are others on the IASH website.
 

What a wonderful colleague we have lost, not just to IASH and NLP, but for the world and all those people that will still be helped by reading his book. I make a referral to his work and books to almost every group I train. I hope the books will still be available for people to learn from.

 

I remember when Don first came to Salt Lake City to take the HCT and his project turned into his first book. That was a true inspiration to be a part of. He and "Miss Edna" Clay kept coming back to help us refine and make improvements in the way we did the HCT. They made a great team and what one of them didn't think up, the other one did. They loved playing off each other and teasing a lot. They also helped to lighten up the trainings. And, we could always count on Don to be there when we needed him. He totally revolutionized the way the Resource People gave feedback to the participants by ensuring that the feedback related to a higher purpose.
 

I will always remember Don Blackerby as the coach from Health Certification Training with extremely high standards. I remember once doing an exercise and getting great results - with Don's wife Linda. Don called me on it because I did not follow the procedure. He wanted me to learn the procedure before I began to deviate from it. I decided he was correct in that and now follow his lead in all my own work.  

 

I will always remember him for his dedication and persistence in terms of following his mission and dream of helping students to value themselves and learn how to learn.
 

Thank you so much for the kind words about Don.   I love to hear these stories.  It is a great comfort to me to celebrate the wonderful man he was and know that he has touched so many lives.  He will truly live on through the impact he made on others.

Linda

 

The family has indicated that they will continue Don’s work and want to make sure that donations in Don’s memory will go to something that was meaningful to Don. 

 

In Don’s honor the IASH Board of Trustees has created the Don Blackerby Memorial Project and Research Fund, and the family has requested that any donations on Don’s behalf be made c/o IASH (Institute for the Advanced Studies of Health), 63 Bovet Rd., #238, San Mateo, CA 94402-3104. Any donation to this fund is tax deductible, as IASH is a non-profit corporation.

 

Obituary in the Oklahoma City Oklahoman

 

Donald Avery Blackerby was born in Tipton, Oklahoma, on August 13, 1938 and passed away November 26, 2009 at Bellevue Health Center. He was born to Ruth and Sturgeon Blackerby. Don earned a BS and MS in Math Education from Oklahoma State University and a PhD in Management of Higher Education Systems from Oklahoma University. He began his lifelong career in education as a math teacher at Putnam City High School and continued his career at the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and dean at El Reno Jr. College. For the last 30 years, Don ran his own consulting company, Success Skills, Inc., enriching the lives of many people and specializing in the application of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to the learning process and helping struggling students of all ages. His book, Rediscover the Joy of Learning, was published in 3 languages and sold worldwide. Over his life Don served in leadership roles for a number of organizations that were meaningful to him, including the Putnam City School Board, Western Oaks Christian Church and Rotary Club. At the time of his death, he was Co-President of the Board of Trustees for IASH (Institute for the Advanced Studies of Health). Don was preceded in death by his grandson, Alex Henthorn. He is survived by his wife, Linda; son, Chris Blackerby and wife Joanne; step-daughter, Kristine Fairchild and husband Chris; step-son, Pendleton Henthorn and wife Beth; grandchildren: Caleb, Tyler, and Bennett Blackerby, Christian and Caleb Kettman, Nicole Fairchild, Robert, Khaiah, and Lily Henthorn; and a sister, Pat Anderson and husband Dellas; niece, Cindy Avers; nephew, Greg Anderson; 2 great-nephews, Parker and Ethan Avers; and his dear friend, Margaret Blackerby. Services will be held Thursday, Dec. 3rd, 11:00 am, at the Church of the Servant, Oklahoma City. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Don Blackerby Memorial Research Fund, c/o IASH (Institute for the Advanced Studies of Health), 63 Bovet Rd., #238, San Mateo, CA 94402-3104.