Virginia Blanchard

VIRGINIA BLANCHARD

Cedar Rapids

Virginia "Ginny" Blanchard, 91, formerly of Cedar Rapids, passed away Jan. 1, 2015. Virginia was living in Palisade, Colo., with her son, Don, and under the loving care of her daughter-in-law, Dorothy. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at Cedar Memorial Park Chapel of Memories, followed by a Celebration of Life service at 11 a.m. Pastor Don Blanchard will officiate.

Virginia is survived by

her three children, Don (Dorothy) Blanchard of Palisade, Colo., Dean (Sandy) Blanchard of Cedar Rapids and Jan Blanchard of Albuquerque, N.M.; five grandchildren, Nathan Blanchard, Aaron (Jessica) Blanchard, Mark Blanchard, Alex Blanchard and Jacob Blanchard; and great-grandchildren, Isaiah, Mathew and Olivia Blanchard.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Warren Blanchard, and her brother, John Cotter.

Virginia was born July 25, 1923, in Muscatine, Iowa, to Gladys (Barr) Cotter. She was raised in Prescott, Iowa, by her mother and her grand-parents, Genevieve and Lee Barr, and graduated from Prescott High School as valedictorian. Virginia attended Simpson College until the attack on Pearl Harbor, when she felt compelled to join the Third Regiment of the U.S. Naval Waves. She met her husband of 63 years, Warren, while they both were in the Navy. They were married in the chapel at Tufts University on April 7, 1947.

Virginia was employed at Collins Credit Union when she retired in 1995.

The loves in Virginia's life were church, family and the Iowa Hawkeyes. She was a member of the First Christian Church in Cedar Rapids until her move to Colorado, where she was a member of the Palisade Church of the Nazarene.

Her greatest joy was her time with her friends and family. Her memory will be cherished by all who knew her and loved her.

Online condolences may be left at www.cedar memorial.com under "obituaries."