Obituary for Patricia R. "Pat" Blanchard

She was born June 5, 1929, at Grandview Hospital in La Crosse to Henry and Othelia (Munson) Affeldt. Pat graduated from Central High School in La Crosse in 1947 and then graduated from the Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn., in 1950. On December 15, 1951, she married her sweetheart, Wayne A. Blanchard after he returned from serving in Korea. Patricia and Wayne had five children, Nancy Ann, Jeffrey Wayne, David John, John Alan, and Steven Roy.

Pat worked as a R.N. at Kahler Hospital in Rochester, Minn., Grandview Hospital in La Crosse, French Hospital in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse. Pat was raised a Lutheran and attended St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in La Crosse where she was baptized, confirmed, and married. She also was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in La Crosse and had been a member of First Lutheran Church in Onalaska. She did volunteer work at churches, knitted for RSVP, and volunteered for the Friends of the Onalaska Library. Wayne preceded Pat in death on December 21, 2019, after 68 years of marriage.

Survivors include her children, Nancy (Michael) Goyette of Holmen, Jeffrey (Donna) Blanchard of Ettrick, Wis., David (Jill) Blanchard of Mequon, Wis., and Steven (Kathi) Blanchard of La Crosse; grandchildren, Shaun (Sue) Goyette of Mauston, Wis., Kelly Ann Goyette of Onalaska, Wis., Suzanne (Peter) Bartley of Austin, Minn., Philip (Megan) Blanchard of Holmen, Wis., Sara (Chris) Miller of Galesville, Wis., Dylan Blanchard of Mequon, Wis., Maximus Blanchard of La Crosse, and Remington Blanchard of La Crosse; great-grandchildren, Brandon Goyette of Mauston, Wis., Emma Elizabeth Goyette of Mauston, Wis., Finley Blanchard of Holmen, Wis., Brody Blanchard of Holmen, Wis., and Olivia Bartley of Austin, Minn.; one sister-in-law, Margaret Blanchard of La Crosse; and nephews, Bill (Doris) Zimmerman of La Crosse, Roland (Barbara) Zimmerman of Hendersonville, Tenn., and Brian Townsend of Decatur, Ill.

In addition to her husband and parents, Pat was preceded in death by her son, John Alan; sisters and brothers-in-law, Dorothea (Harold) Zimmerman and Ellen Jane (Roy) Townsend; nephew, Richard Townsend; brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Ken (Jean) Blanchard, Jay Blanchard, and John (Doris) Brindley; and Pat’s favorite cousin, Esther Jean Scholberg.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 1010 Sill St., La Crosse. Rev. Phillip Waselik will officiate. After a time of fellowship and food, burial will be in Onalaska Cemetery. A visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the time of service Tuesday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to Trinity Lutheran Church, Gundersen Medical Foundation, or Coulee Region Humane Society.

Fredrickson Funeral Homes and Crematory, Woodruff Chapel, La Crosse, is assisting the family with arrangements.

Online condolences may be offered at this website.