July 27, 2012
Blanchard, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Dunston (Watson) Blanchard, a resident of Westwood for over 15 years, and formerly of Needham, died Thursday, July 26, 2012 at the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. She was 91. Betty was born November 23, 1920 in Great Neck, New York, one of the two children of Carl Hawley and Elizabeth Jeanne (Dunston) Watson. She was a graduate of the Convent of the Sacred Heart’s Eden Hall in Torresdale, Pennsylvania, and of Manhattanville College in New York City. Betty was a member of the Garden Club of America, the Dedham Choral Society, and the Norfolk Hunt Club in Dover. Betty was the former wife of the late F. Henry Ellis Jr., the wife of the late John A. “Jack” Blanchard, and the sister of the late Carl Hedrick Watson. She was also predeceased by her companion of seven years, Arthur F.F. Snyder. She is survived by her seven children, Katherine de Saulles Ellis of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Elizabeth Dunston Ellis of Sante Fe, New Mexico, Franklin Henry Ellis III of Jamaica Plain, Margot McClintock Ellis of Tucson, Arizona, Laura Lawson Ellis Milliken of Sante Fe, New Mexico, Mimi Ellis Storey of Essex, and Hedrick Watson Ellis of Arlington; 14 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held Monday, August 6, 2012 at 11 AM at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 59 Court Street, Dedham.
Comments(3)
Mimi,
I’m so sorry for your loss. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance during this difficult time. My thoughts are with you and your family.
-Nicole Robinson
Hedrick,
We are so very sorry to hear of the loss of your mother. Our most sincere sympathy and love to you and your family.
Wendy and Peter
Had I known I would have driven down for the service. I loved your mother. I worried that Jack Blanchard’s late years were going to be a miserable replication of the terrible hard years he went through earlier in his life. Because of Betty he had many years as full and happy as any I think he ever enjoyed.
She was funny, gracious, compassionate. Jack and I competed for which of us could be more ornery and unreasonable, and Betty, instead of being exasperated as most would, treated us as if we were a comedy team. Which I think she regarded us as.
There was so much to admire about her. I never knew whether she was so well bred that she would never consider herself too highly, or really didn’t know what a lovely and engaging person she was, someone people wanted to spend time with.
When she married Jack, his house became more orderly and well decorated. But when Lacey and I came with our five children to swim in the pool, or Rosemary and Regina joined in adding to the chaos, Betty behaved as if it were the best thing that had happened to her all day.
Having put in 91 years (can she have been 91?) she deserves respite. But for me – and no doubt for many – her death leaves the world immeasurably poorer.