Audrey Maxine Blanchard

Audrey Maxine Blanchard, 90, of Manhattan, passed away on Tuesday, April 8th, at Meadowlark Hills Retirement Community. On August 17, 1923, Maxine was born in Onaga, Kansas to the late Cecil Merl and Anna Elizabeth (McCloughan) Randall. Maxine was united in marriage to the late Albert Ray Blanchard on June 8, 1947 at the First Baptist Church in Manhattan, where she was a member until her death. She attended Kansas State University before becoming a comptroller for the Bob Wilson Memorial Hospital in Ulysses from 1969-1978, she also had worked for Conoco Oil in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Maxine was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star (#209 Manhattan), CiCo Sunflower Study Club, Debbie Coats ABWM, Riley County Senior Center, and the Kansas State University Alumni Association. Maxine is survived by two sons; Lawrence R. (Joyce) Blanchard, of Wichita and Terry L. (Kathleen) Blanchard, of Bryan, Texas; and a daughter, Betty J. Gathers, of Manhattan. She is also survived by 6 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and one sister, Vivian Rice. Visitation will be at the funeral home on April 10, 2014 from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm with family receiving friends from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. A funeral service will be held at the First Baptist Church on Friday, April 11 at 2:00 pm with Pastor Rick Newbauer officiating. Burial will follow at the Sunrise Cemetery in Manhattan. Family requests donations to be made to the First Baptist Church, 2121 Blue Hills Road Manhattan, Kansas 66502.