Resident of Milpitas

Nancy Jane Blanchard, 87, of Milpitas, passed away peacefully in San Jose on 10 October, 2024. Born Nancy Jane Shea in Newport, Rhode Island, on 2June, 1937, to Mr. Martin Christopher Shea and Mrs. Ella MacCauley Lawton Shea, she grew up in Newport alongside her brothers Martin and Howard, and her sister Joanne. She graduated from Rogers High School and the Newport Hospital School of Nursing, beginning what was to become a lifetime career as a Registered Nurse. She married Maxwell Blanchard, and the couple started their new life together in San Diego, California, shortly later relocating to the Santa Clara Valley, first to Sunnyvale and later to San Jose. The marriage produced three children, Michael, Patrick, and Kathleen. She focused on raising her children for many years as they grew to maturity, and eventually returned to nursing full time. Nancy’s nursing career was diverse, but predominantly spent in the field of public health, most recently at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She was devoted to the patients under her care and to her coworkers as well. Nurse Nancy was a revered figure among coworkers, friends, and neighbors. Those who knew her will recall her open mind, warm heart, and her sense of humor, always ready to laugh, even at herself. Those who knew her very well will readily attest to her unfailing generosity, to family, friends, and worthy causes. She is survived by her younger brother Howard, her three children and their father, five grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. A Mass will be held at 10:00 AM on Friday, 17 January at the Holy Family Catholic Church on Pearl Ave in San Jose. Her remains will be interred at Braman Cemetery in a family resting place in Newport, Rhode Island, in the coming year. She will be remembered with love and affection by all her friends and most of all by her family, who will dearly miss her wit, wisdom, and gentle nature.