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Boyd Blashfield, always known to his friends as “Mickey,” passed away unexpectedly at his home in Colon on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. He was 61 years old.
Born the oldest of four children to Paul & Mary (Heselschwerdt) Blashfield in Homer, MI October 27, 1963 (a birthday shared with his father Paul, separated by 20 years). He graduated from Homer Community Schools Class of ’82 where he was an award-winning debater, school correspondent for the Homer Index, and Honor roll student. Graduating with honors from Eastern Michigan University (Political Science & Communication, 1986), Mickey competed and coached briefly for the EMU National Champion Forensics speech team and was the Photo Editor at the Eastern Echo. Mickey coached five State Champion Debate teams at University Liggett Schools in Grosse Pointe (1986-1991) and taught History, Government and Speech. During his short tenure in education, one of his student’s families hired Mickey to oversee governmental affairs for the Ambassador Bridge and its transportation companies, where he remained for 28 years in Detroit.
During his career with the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, a legacy of legislative amendments and policy initiatives was spearheaded by Blashfield and endures in statute today.
Mickey Blashfield met regularly with local, state, and national elected officials and had his fingerprints on many trade and transportation issues, including duty free motor fuel sales in Detroit, US Customs and trade policies, and various regulatory & tax relief for trucking companies. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Blashfield and Bridge officials were the very first private sector meeting with the then Office of Homeland Security (now a federal cabinet department) and advocated for rational and secure border crossing procedures during a very pivotal time. Blashfield was a media relations spokesman for the Ambassador Bridge and a liaison with hundreds of elected officials before leaving the company in 2019 as Vice President of Governmental Relations.
From 2019 to 2021, Mickey Blashfield served as President and CEO of the Michigan Trucking Association in Lansing, during the critical era of the Covid 19 pandemic and the resulting logistics hurdles. During that time, he increased membership, improved media outreach, secured annual state grants for truck safety initiatives, and served as a regional leader with the American Trucking Associations.
In 2022, Mickey Blashfield moved to Colon – the Magic Capital of the World – where he settled into the former home of Neil Foster, an internationally known magician who taught the Chavez College of Magic in the home’s basement. Mickey enjoyed a period of semi-retirement while he consulted on a congressional campaign and enjoyed his life-long love of magic by advising and coaching magicians and serving for many years on the Board of The American Museum of Magic in Marshall, MI. He also coordinated street performers for the Abbott’s Magic Get Together during the first week of August.
A voracious correspondent, Mickey collected pens, especially Montblanc fountain pens. Over his lifetime, he professionally photographed 400 weddings and many portrait sessions. In addition, he was a magic performer, collector, an avid historian, and critic.
A quiet person of faith, Mickey was a youth group leader at Cook’s Prairie Baptist Church growing up in Homer, worked six summers at the Gull Lake Bible Conference in Hickory Corners, MI with youth programming, and attended and was baptized at Grace Community Church in Grosse Pointe, MI.
Mickey Blashfield is survived by his parents, Paul & Mary (Heselschwerdt) Blashfield; his brother Derrek (Melisa Burke) Blashfield; his sister Holly Blashfield; and his brother Marty (Shannon Landis) Blashfield. He was preceded in death by his grandparents Rex & Margaret (Crandall) Blashfield and Hazen & Beatrice (Root) Heselschwerdt. Among Mickey’s proudest accomplishments was his diverse friendships and acquaintances among so many categories: academics, politics, transportation, magic, and in the many communities in which he lived.
Following in his wishes cremation has taken place. There are no services planned at this time. Memorial donations may be directed to the American Museum of Magic, 107 E. Michigan Ave, Box 5, Marshall, MI 49068 (www.americanmuseumofmagic.com) where Mickey enjoyed nothing more than sharing stories and details of the various artifacts and exhibits.
