Just in case you haven't found it already, Samuel Tate Blair's death certificate can be viewed and copied at the following link:
http://www.sos.mo.gov/TIF2PDFConsumer/DispPDF.aspx?fTiff=/archives/DeptofHealth/Death/1917/1917_00010647.TIF&Fln=2229485.pdf
Anyone who is looking for information on people who died in Missouri can go to the Secretary of State's website and search the death record database for persons who died between 1910 and 1959. The site has been a great help in my own genealogical research.
Looking forward to reading the diary...
Maggie