BEVERLY: Phyllis A. (Foss) Blanchard, 83, died Monday, November 23, 2009 in the Hunt Nursing and Retirement Home in Danvers following an extended illness. She was the wife of the late Joseph H. Blanchard who died in January 2003.
Born in Beverly on October 6, 1926, she was the daughter of the late Phillip and Margaret (Ingalls) Foss. She was a lifelong resident of Beverly and a graduate of Beverly High School.
Phyllis was a volunteer at the Beverly Hospital Gift Shop for many years. A member of the Franco-American Club, she enjoyed bingo, knitting, dancing, cooking and doing crafts. She also loved to spoil her granddaughters and time spent with her family during the holidays.
She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Wayne J. Blanchard and Judith Benea-Blanchard of Beverly; two granddaughters, Jennifer and her husband, Denis Catto of Weymouth and Amy and her husband, Jamie Varmette of Beverly; four great-grandchildren, Kristopher Piccini, Joseph and Andrew Catto and Sophia Varmette; a sister, Patricia and her husband, Donny Beausoliel; a brother, Bobby and his wife, Nancy Foss; three sisters-in-law, Claire and her husband, Eddie Young, Ginger and her husband, Tommy Burns and Joan Foss and many nieces and nephews. She was also predeceased by her son, Scott E. Blanchard, a sister, Lulu and her husband, Harold Wendall, two brothers, Donald and Louis Foss and a brother-in-law, Ralph and his wife, Sally Lansol.
Her funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday in the St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, 253 Cabot St., Beverly at 9 a.m. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday in the Grondin Funeral Home, 376 Cabot Street, Beverly from 4 – 8 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Assoc., 311 Arsenal St., Watertown, MA 02472. Interment will be held in the North Beverly Cemetery.