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April 19, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Monday, April 23, 2018 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at the funeral home, followed by interment at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.
Bruce M. Blanchard, age 70, of Pequannock, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 19, 2018. He was receiving the love and comfort of his family at the time of his passing.
Born in Passaic, Bruce was raised in Pequannock where he attended Holy Spirit grade schools and graduated from Pequannock High School with the Class of 1966. Growing up, Bruce was always involved in scouting and he ultimately attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He was also a star on his high school wrestling team.
Bruce can thank his high school prom for providing the excuse to meet his future wife Linda Wojcichowski. There were three couples planning on going to the prom together – Linda with her boyfriend at the time, Bruce and his date, and one other couple. In anticipation, Linda wanted her nails to look especially nice so she purchased of set of those glue-on nails. Problem was, she used too much glue and they stuck up too high off of her fingers. Bruce noticed this and, thinking Linda needed a little help, he offered to take her to the industrial arts classroom to see if they could get the fake nails off. It didn’t work and Linda ended up wearing gloves to the prom, but soon after, Bruce wasted no time to ask Linda out. Soon after, Bruce started attending Alfred University in upstate New York so dating had to be long distance. At that point, he was majoring in Animal Husbandry because he told Linda he wanted to be a farmer. In the meantime, the Vietnam War was in full swing and, knowing he was going to be drafted, Bruce chose to enlist. He served stateside in the U.S. Navy from January of 1968 to January of 1972 and during that time, he received training as a boiler man – training that would prove to be very beneficial in the long run. Bruce and Linda continued their relationship via phone and mail and they even planned their wedding for May of 1970, but it had to be delayed until September 5, 1970 because the Navy ship Bruce was serving on was deployed to sea. He returned home just long enough to get married at Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock. After the wedding, he returned to Navy service in Virginia but this time he had the privilege and honor to bring his new wife along to live with him on the base.
After Bruce’s Navy service completed in 1972, he was honorably discharged and he and Linda returned to New Jersey where they settled initially in an apartment in Little Falls. Soon after they welcomed Bruce - their first of three sons. In 1974, they bought a house in Haskell and then in 1978 another house in Pequannock. By then Bruce and Linda’s other two boys – Brian and Kevin joined the family.
Bruce’s first job as a civilian was with (Public Service Electric and Gas PSE&G) where he was…….you guessed it – a boiler mechanic. That Navy training really paid off! He worked on the huge commercial boilers – the one’s you’d have to climb right into to work on. One could say Bruce really got into his work. In 1978 he went to work as a boiler operator/engineer for Hoffman LaRoche in Nutley and remained there for 25 years until taking retirement in 2013.
Bruce was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who always held a great amount of thankfulness to God in his heart for the blessings of family. His sons will always have great memories of vacations down the shore and trips to Florida – except for that one time they camped in Florida in the sweltering heat of summer. He packed a whole bunch of excitement in the few years of retirement by doing adventurous activities with Linda including zip-lining and traversing underground into a working well in Cancun, taking floating plane flights in Alaska, going on cruises seven times including one through the Panama Canal, and spending time in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where they liked to go to see the hot-air balloons, inspiring shows of Christ’s love and great music at the Sight and Sound Theater and American Music Theater, and, while in Lancaster, patiently going shopping with Linda who got all her supplies there for her quilting hobby. Bruce’s grandchildren were always welcome and even encouraged to spend time with Grandpa in his backyard pool, taking trips down the shore or spending the day visiting a local zoo.
When Bruce wasn’t taking trips, he had plenty of hobbies to keep him busy. He grew up with a love for model trains and it became one his lifetime passions. He had a whole room dedicated to the trains – some which dated back to the 1950’s, and he built whole villages that the trains traveled through. One of the scenes in the layout included a diner called “Lin’s Diner” named after his wife. Good-naturedly, the diner had smoke coming out of it as “compliment” to Linda’s excellent cooking skills. This was a hobby that he also enjoyed sharing with his grandchildren. Bruce also loved to spend time in his gardens, taking long walks, and working in his woodshop which truly had a tool for any application you could imagine. He truly was a gifted woodworking craftsman who built beautiful, finely carved benches, curio cabinets, spice racks as well as decorations, and toys for his grandkids.
Bruce’s contagious laugh will be a cherished memory for his family and friends and, every time someone who knew him well eats a marshmallow peep, they’ll think about how much he loved those confectionary critters. He liked them best when they were a little stale and he was certainly glad that he could count on getting them whenever a holiday occurred. He also had a seeming attraction to Butter Finger candy bars and so naturally, he kept a stash of them here, there, and everywhere. Don’t try to steal one of Bruce’s Butter Fingers! He kept pretty-good track of his inventory and he’d yell, “Who ate my Butter Fingers?” if he sensed one was missing.
Most important to Bruce was his faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He attended Grace Bible Church in Pompton Plains and, most recently, Green Pond Chapel. After retiring he also loved volunteering at The Good Shepherd Mission in Paterson. He faithfully volunteered every Wednesday and made many good friends along the way. When Bruce recently became sick, he truly appreciated the guys from the mission who came once a week to take him to the diner.
Bruce was the beloved husband for 47 years of Linda (nee Wojcichowski); loving father of Bruce W. and wife Maria Blanchard of Lincoln Park, Brian and wife Melissa Blanchard of Lincoln Park, and Kevin and wife Veronica Blanchard of Pequannock; cherished grandfather of Amber, Jason, Ava, James, Emma, Austin, Bethany, Josiah, and Caleb; dear son of Stanford Blanchard of Williamstown, NJ and the late Wanda (nee Dolinski) Blanchard; and much-loved brother of Pamela and husband John Tomchick of Williamstown, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Bruce’s name are asked to consider The Good Shepherd Mission, 336 Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07501 (gsmpat.org/donations).
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Monday, April 23, 2018 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at the funeral home, followed by interment at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.
April 19, 2018
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Monday, April 23, 2018 from 4-8 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
A Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 at the funeral home, followed by interment at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.
Bruce M. Blanchard, age 70, of Pequannock, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 19, 2018. He was receiving the love and comfort of his family at the time of his passing.
Born in Passaic, Bruce was raised in Pequannock where he attended Holy Spirit grade schools and graduated from Pequannock High School with the Class of 1966. Growing up, Bruce was always involved in scouting and he ultimately attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He was also a star on his high school wrestling team.
Bruce can thank his high school prom for providing the excuse to meet his future wife Linda Wojcichowski. There were three couples planning on going to the prom together – Linda with her boyfriend at the time, Bruce and his date, and one other couple. In anticipation, Linda wanted her nails to look especially nice so she purchased of set of those glue-on nails. Problem was, she used too much glue and they stuck up too high off of her fingers. Bruce noticed this and, thinking Linda needed a little help, he offered to take her to the industrial arts classroom to see if they could get the fake nails off. It didn’t work and Linda ended up wearing gloves to the prom, but soon after, Bruce wasted no time to ask Linda out. Soon after, Bruce started attending Alfred University in upstate New York so dating had to be long distance. At that point, he was majoring in Animal Husbandry because he told Linda he wanted to be a farmer. In the meantime, the Vietnam War was in full swing and, knowing he was going to be drafted, Bruce chose to enlist. He served stateside in the U.S. Navy from January of 1968 to January of 1972 and during that time, he received training as a boiler man – training that would prove to be very beneficial in the long run. Bruce and Linda continued their relationship via phone and mail and they even planned their wedding for May of 1970, but it had to be delayed until September 5, 1970 because the Navy ship Bruce was serving on was deployed to sea. He returned home just long enough to get married at Holy Spirit Church in Pequannock. After the wedding, he returned to Navy service in Virginia but this time he had the privilege and honor to bring his new wife along to live with him on the base.
After Bruce’s Navy service completed in 1972, he was honorably discharged and he and Linda returned to New Jersey where they settled initially in an apartment in Little Falls. Soon after they welcomed Bruce - their first of three sons. In 1974, they bought a house in Haskell and then in 1978 another house in Pequannock. By then Bruce and Linda’s other two boys – Brian and Kevin joined the family.
Bruce’s first job as a civilian was with (Public Service Electric and Gas PSE&G) where he was…….you guessed it – a boiler mechanic. That Navy training really paid off! He worked on the huge commercial boilers – the one’s you’d have to climb right into to work on. One could say Bruce really got into his work. In 1978 he went to work as a boiler operator/engineer for Hoffman LaRoche in Nutley and remained there for 25 years until taking retirement in 2013.
Bruce was a devoted husband, father and grandfather who always held a great amount of thankfulness to God in his heart for the blessings of family. His sons will always have great memories of vacations down the shore and trips to Florida – except for that one time they camped in Florida in the sweltering heat of summer. He packed a whole bunch of excitement in the few years of retirement by doing adventurous activities with Linda including zip-lining and traversing underground into a working well in Cancun, taking floating plane flights in Alaska, going on cruises seven times including one through the Panama Canal, and spending time in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where they liked to go to see the hot-air balloons, inspiring shows of Christ’s love and great music at the Sight and Sound Theater and American Music Theater, and, while in Lancaster, patiently going shopping with Linda who got all her supplies there for her quilting hobby. Bruce’s grandchildren were always welcome and even encouraged to spend time with Grandpa in his backyard pool, taking trips down the shore or spending the day visiting a local zoo.
When Bruce wasn’t taking trips, he had plenty of hobbies to keep him busy. He grew up with a love for model trains and it became one his lifetime passions. He had a whole room dedicated to the trains – some which dated back to the 1950’s, and he built whole villages that the trains traveled through. One of the scenes in the layout included a diner called “Lin’s Diner” named after his wife. Good-naturedly, the diner had smoke coming out of it as “compliment” to Linda’s excellent cooking skills. This was a hobby that he also enjoyed sharing with his grandchildren. Bruce also loved to spend time in his gardens, taking long walks, and working in his woodshop which truly had a tool for any application you could imagine. He truly was a gifted woodworking craftsman who built beautiful, finely carved benches, curio cabinets, spice racks as well as decorations, and toys for his grandkids.
Bruce’s contagious laugh will be a cherished memory for his family and friends and, every time someone who knew him well eats a marshmallow peep, they’ll think about how much he loved those confectionary critters. He liked them best when they were a little stale and he was certainly glad that he could count on getting them whenever a holiday occurred. He also had a seeming attraction to Butter Finger candy bars and so naturally, he kept a stash of them here, there, and everywhere. Don’t try to steal one of Bruce’s Butter Fingers! He kept pretty-good track of his inventory and he’d yell, “Who ate my Butter Fingers?” if he sensed one was missing.
Most important to Bruce was his faith in his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He attended Grace Bible Church in Pompton Plains and, most recently, Green Pond Chapel. After retiring he also loved volunteering at The Good Shepherd Mission in Paterson. He faithfully volunteered every Wednesday and made many good friends along the way. When Bruce recently became sick, he truly appreciated the guys from the mission who came once a week to take him to the diner.
Bruce was the beloved husband for 47 years of Linda (nee Wojcichowski); loving father of Bruce W. and wife Maria Blanchard of Lincoln Park, Brian and wife Melissa Blanchard of Lincoln Park, and Kevin and wife Veronica Blanchard of Pequannock; cherished grandfather of Amber, Jason, Ava, James, Emma, Austin, Bethany, Josiah, and Caleb; dear son of Stanford Blanchard of Williamstown, NJ and the late Wanda (nee Dolinski) Blanchard; and much-loved brother of Pamela and husband John Tomchick of Williamstown, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Bruce’s name are asked to consider The Good Shepherd Mission, 336 Broadway, Paterson, NJ 07501 (gsmpat.org/donations).
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