...WWII & Korean Wars Navy Veteran; 90
TEWKSBURY - Ruth M. Blanchet, R.N., age 90, a veteran of two wars, died peacefully, on Friday, July 15, at her Tewksbury home, surrounded by her family, after a long battle with deteriorating health. She was the beloved wife of the late Raymond W. Blanchet Sr., who died in 1987.
She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 9, 1921, a daughter of the late Carl E. and Florence (Wright) Johnson. She was raised in Cambridge and Natick, and moved to Tewksbury in 1953, to raise her family. Throughout her life she summered on Tinkers Island, off the coast of Marblehead, and after her marriage also summered at her husband's family home in Tunbridge, Vermont. In her retirement, she wintered in Ellenton, Florida.
She graduated from Boston City Hospital's School of Nursing, and enlisted into the Navy during WWII. She was stationed at Pearl Harbor following December 7, 1941, and would later be recalled into the Navy in 1949, during the Korean War. She was honorably discharged as a full Lieutenant.
She would continue her nursing career at Boston City Hospital, Saint John's Hospital in Lowell, now Saints Medical Center, and later Tewksbury Hospital. She was awarded an Honorary Bacccalaureate in Nursing from the University of Massachusetts. In her retirement, she worked for several area nursing homes.
She was a communicant of St. William's Church in Tewksbury, a former Camp Fire Leader, and in retirement a member of the Emanon Club and the Colony Cove Crafter Club both in Ellenton, Florida.
She is survived by her daughter and primary care-giver, Christina M. "Tina" Blanchet, of Tewksbury, with whom she resided; two sons and daughters-in-law, Raymond W. Blanchet Jr., and his wife Denise (Castro) of Billerica, and Robert A. Blanchet and his wife Marianne (Murphy) of Dracut; Lt. James J. "Chip" McKenna, Tewksbury Police Department, and his wife Beverly of Methuen, whom she considered a "third son;" five beloved grandchildren, Kristen Blanchet and her fiance Shaun Keagan of Methuen, Colene Blanchet of Brooklyn, NY, Trinidad, Trevor, and Danielle Blanchet of Dracut; her beloved great grandchildren, Lucas, Eli, and Jack of Methuen; a brother, Donald Johnson and his wife Elizabeth "Bettye" of Bourne; a remaining cousin, Robert Sandblom of Milton; and many nieces and nephews.
She was also mother of the late Mary Blanchet who died in infancy, and sister of the late Arthur Johnson and Marjorie Mutter.
Her Funeral Mass was celebrated Monday, July 18, in St. William's Church, Tewksbury. Burial with Navy Honors followed in Tewksbury Cemetery. Memorials to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. June Pl., Memphis, TN 38105-1905, will be appreciated.