Thomas A. Blanchard

Thomas A. Blanchard, 76, of Shelbyville passed away at 9:34 p.m. Sunday, April 10, 2011 at his residence. Born March 30, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, he was the son of Harry G. and Eleanor A. (Santon) Blanchard. He married twice, to two wonderful women, Betty Bolger and Jan Nolan. Always a father in heart, he was a devoted husband to both and considered their children and grandchildren his own. Survivors include his wife, Jan Blanchard of Shelbyville; sons, Brett Blanchard of Roeland Park, Kansas, William (wife, Cathy) Blanchard of Dubuque, Iowa, Peter (wife, Mary Danetta) Blanchard of Carroll Valley, Pennsylvania, Timothy (wife, Fatima) Blanchard of Mission, Kansas and Paul Rutan II of Greensburg; daughter, Laura (husband, Jeff) Bennett of Tullahoma, Tennessee; sister, Mary (husband, Ray) Marshall of Bracey, Virginia; brother, William (wife, Ginny) Blanchard of Wisconsin; and grandchildren, Brittney Blanchard, Jacob Blanchard, Marie Blanchard, Grace Blanchard, Trevor Rutan, Alex Rutan, Christian Rutan Woods, Morgan Rutan Woods and Collin Bennett. He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife, Elizabeth Marie "Betty" Blanchard. Mr. Blanchard wrote several technical journal articles. His professional career as a mechanical engineer included over 50 years in the process heating field. Employment tenure brought him to Surface Combustion Corporation in Toledo, Ohio; Holcroft, a Division of Thermal Electron Corporation in Livonia, Michigan; Sauder Energy Systems Incorporated in Emporia, Kansas, and finally Wellman Furnaces Incorporated in Shelbyville. He was a member of St. Vincent dePaul and St. Joseph Catholic churches, the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers and American Society for Metals. Mr. Blanchard graduated from Shaw High School in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1953 and received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 pm, Thursday, April 14, 2011 at Freeman Family Funeral Homes and Crematory, Carmony-Ewing Chapel, 819 S. Harrison St. The Rosary will be recited at 3:30 pm, followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 am, Friday, April 15, 2011 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 4218 E. Michigan Road, Shelbyville, Indiana. Interment will be in St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Shelbyville. Memorial contributions may be made to Benesse Oncology Center, 2455 Intelliplex Drive, Shelbyville, Indiana 46176 His sons wish to extend a heartfelt gratitude for Jan's enduring care for their father during his illness. He tender quietness gave him an extended amount of time in his fight with lung cancer.