John Francis Blain's Obituary
John Francis Blain, 53, of Oakland, California, passed away at his home on June 26, 2023.
The son of Robert and Jane Blain, John was born in Los Angeles on March 6, 1970, the 8th in a family of nine children, with four brothers and four sisters. He attended Holy Family Grade School in Glendale, California and then St. Francis High School in La Canada where he ran track and played football.
He attended Pasadena City College and then the University of San Diego where he was an English major and graduated in 1994. During college and while living with his parents and sister in San Clemente, California, John worked several jobs including as a busboy at Cocos, a delivery driver for a florist, and at a liquor store.
In 1994, John moved to Taiwan to teach English, and then moved to Seoul, Korea a year later to teach at the Kalma English Language School. He had not been there long, when in December of that year, he met his soulmate, Helen Yoo of San Francisco, California, who was also teaching at the school.
John and Helen and her father adventured to China prior to moving back to the Bay Area in 1998. The couple was married shortly after on November 28th.
They lived in San Francisco for a time with Helen’s father before moving to Oakland in 2000. During that time, John worked as a registrar for an English language school in San Francisco.
On December 16, 2005, they welcomed their first child, Bobae Jane.
It was during this period that John and Helen became interested in opening an elderly care facility. In partnership with Helen’s family, they acquired a closed-down facility, renovated it and opened Dimond Care on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland in 2006. John and Helen were the ultimate owner-
operator team, turning Dimond Care into an impressive and successful business.
On December 30, 2013, they welcomed their second child, Mingi Robert.
In 2015, they moved to the Oakland hills to their current residence. John took great pride in his garden and landscape and was always improving and designing new features and ways for his family to enjoy their beautiful home.
John loved gardening and watching sports—especially fanatic about the Warriors. He enjoyed traveling, camping, hiking, running, listening to podcasts, debating politics, working on house and Dimond Care projects, helping people, staying connected to his family and friends, and sharing stories about his kids’ accomplishments on the family group chat. He was a dedicated father and husband whose positively unique sense of humor and incredible generosity of spirit, will be forever missed.
He is survived by his wife, Helen, his children, Bobae and Mingi, his mother, Jane, and siblings, Monica, Jacqueline, Robert, Janine, Greg, Matthew, Marc, and Jennifer
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