My father married Blanche in 1977; my own mother had died shortly after Nonnie and I were married in 1976. Blanche was my ‘wicked’ stepmother and grandmother to our children. My father died in 1990, and for the next 24 years she continued to be close part of our family.
Blanche died last Monday at the age of 93. She was a wonderful woman, kind and loving, with nothing bad to say about anyone - the exact opposite of the’ wicked’ stepmother stereotype. She showed us how to grow old gracefully, how to maintain interest in the outside world, in other people. Although she had many health problems she did not complain, she asked about other people and their their well-being, their dreams and goals.
Over the years Blanche took many wonderful trips with us. Several times she and my father came to visit us in Aruba, and after he died she joined us on a trip to Hong Kong. Colin and Derek were so excited, waiting for her in the arrival hall of the old Hong Kong Airport.
She had a wonderful smile, and seemed genuinely glad to see people. She was a real people person. The day before she died she was asking us to make sure that her lunch dates were all canceled. But she was old and frail and she told me she was ready to die. When her time came she simply closed her eyes and rested. I sat with her all day in her hospital room, and at the end of the day I held her hand as she took her last breath. Her absence creates a huge hole in our lives now. We miss her terribly.
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