Bertha Emma Blanchard, 89, a longtime resident of Waterbury, passed away in the comfort of her family at the home of her daughter in Duxbury on Thursday evening, October 27, 2011. Born in Waterbury on March 31, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Benjamin H. Joy Sr. and Christie (Doubleday) Joy. Bertha married Ralph W. Blanchard at the Advent Christian Church in Colbyville in 1947. Ralph passed away on January 9, 1981.
Bertha attended Waterbury High School and following her marriage was happy and busy as a homemaker and raising her family. A longtime member of the Advent Christian Church, she was active in the children’s ministries and the Women’s Home and Foreign Missions Society. She very much enjoyed hosting visiting missionaries in her home and reaching out in fellowship to her neighbors on East Street. Following the closing of her church in Colbyville she attended the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church which is now known as the Green Mountain Community Alliance Church in Duxbury. Her favorite pastimes included playing the piano and the accordion, which she did by ear, and reading the Bible.
Having been spared the difficulties of the recent floodwaters in Waterbury, she recalled being carried on the shoulders of her father at the age of 5 as they left their flooded home on Randall Street in 1927.
Bertha is survived by her children, Barbara Jean Carter and her husband William of Duxbury and Frederick R. Blanchard and his wife Deborah of Waitsfield; four grandchildren, Lisa Palmer and her husband Eric of Waitsfield, Amy Denis of Waitsfield, Bonnie Dalager and her husband Philip of Spencer, IA, and Jason Blanchard of Winooski; eight great-grandchildren, Daniel, Jacob and Isaac Palmer, Michael and Connor Denis, and Carter, Jackson and Malcolm Dalager; a brother, William Joy of Calais; as well as nieces, nephews and extended family. Bertha was predeceased by four sisters, Annis Burgess, Avis Warren, Charlotte Joy and Arlene Leland, and two brothers, Maynard Joy and Benjamin Joy Jr.
A celebration of Bertha’s life will be held from the Green Mountain Community Alliance Church in Duxbury on Friday, November 4, at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow at the church. Inurnment will take place in Hope Cemetery, Waterbury. For those who wish, memorial gifts instead of flowers would be appreciated to the Green Mountain Community Alliance Church Mission Fund, 4987 Vermont Route 100, Duxbury, VT 05676. To send online condolences please visit www.perkinsparker.com and Facebook. Assisting the family is the Perkins-Parker Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Waterbury.
