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Nov 13, 1933 - Jun 29, 2010
Saturday memorial service set for crash victim Bill Blanchard ~ By Will Bigham, Staff Writer
William Briggs Blanchard lived in the Inland Valley for more than seven decades. In that span, he raised a family and built lasting friendships.
So when Blanchard's loved ones gather this morning for his memorial service at First United Methodist Church in Upland, his wife expects a large crowd.
"That church will be packed," Arlene Blanchard said. "The church only holds 350, but they'll be out the door, I'm sure."
William Blanchard, known as "Bill," died at 76 last week following a car crash in which police say Blanchard's pickup truck was hit by a parolee fleeing police in a stolen car. The driver has been charged with murder.
Arlene Blanchard was reluctant Friday to discuss her husband's death, saying she was "broken in pieces" when her son called with the news.
"I just want to put Bill to rest," she said.
At an age when many people are satisfied with retirement, Blanchard continued to work full time at Cable Airport, where he was planning director, his wife said. He worked at the airport since 1978.
He was a lifelong musician, and at the time of his death he had leading duties in two local groups: the Ontario/Chaffey Community Show Band and Bill Blanchard's Little Big Band, which he formed.
The Upland resident had lunch every day with his 100-year-old mother, who lives in a retirement community in Claremont.
"That's one of the reasons I married him," Arlene Blanchard said. "She's a wonderful woman. We're very close."
Blanchard's active lifestyle kept him healthy and often fooled friends about his true age, his wife said.
"He looked 10 years younger than he was," she said.
Blanchard's family moved to Southern California from Ohio when Blanchard was 3 years old. The family settled in Claremont, where Blanchard attended Webb School and Pomona College.
He married his first wife, Helen Blanchard, in 1957. The couple had five children. Helen Blanchard died in 1996, and Bill Blanchard remarried in 1999.
Jack Mercer, director of the Ontario/Chaffey Community Show Band, said he met Blanchard in 1958, when both were music instructors - Mercer at Chaffey High School and Blanchard and Chaffey College.
About 5 or 6 years ago, Blanchard jointed Mercer's show band as a keyboard player, Mercer said. From there Blanchard's role grew, and he began composing music for the group and occasionally conducting.
"He was a perfectly beautiful man, in every respect," Mercer said.
Blanchard's Little Big Band kept a busy schedule - performing often at retirement communities, birthday parties and school reunions.
The group performed four times in the two months before Blanchard's death, and it had six performances scheduled the rest of the year, according to the band's website.
Arlene Blanchard said the group is scheduled to play Sunday in Beaumont. Despite Blanchard's passing, the group plans to perform "in memory of him," she said.
Blanchard's memorial service is set to begin this morning at 11:15 at First United Methodist Church, 262 N. Euclid Ave. in Upland.
Before the ceremony, Blanchard will be buried in a private ceremony at Oak Park Cemetery in Claremont, his wife said.
Blanchard is survived by five children, two step-children, five grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
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