INFORMATION FROM BURNS FUNERAL HOME WEBSITE:
Obituary for John C. Blanchard Jr.
John Blanchard, age 84 of Hobart, IN, beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away peacefully on June 5, 2025 with family by his side. He courageously battled cancer for three years. John was preceded in death by his parents John Sr. and Virginia Blanchard (nee Bannister). He is survived by his sister Margie Lindsey, daughter, Cindy (Nick Baldner), son, John Blanchard, grand-daughter, Lindsay Negrelli-Gawat (Ryan), grandsons, Christian (Lorrin Wilfong) and Ryan Burmeister (Hailey Hashu), great-grandchildren AJ and Abby Gawat. As well as several nieces and nephews and beloved grand-dogs, previous dogs and his current best buddy, Primos.
John was born in Gary, Indiana and graduated from Hobart High School in 1958. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp after high school where he was stationed in Twentynine Palms, CA and served from 1958-1961 as an E-4 Cpl, Anti Aircraft Artillery Tank Commander. John was also honored as an expert rifleman, and loved sharing stories with family and friends about his time in the service. Post Marines, throughout his career, he was employed as a route truck driver for various companies as well as his side hustles, bartending and painting with his cousin.
He shared that some of his favorite childhood memories included hitting a home run in little league, stamp collecting, fishing at Duck Creek and meeting Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. During his teenage years he had a love for classic and fast cars. He enjoyed cruising with his friends and Friday night drive-ins! John always had a comb and can of grease in his pocket, and during the summers he enjoyed going to work with his Dad to make some extra cash. In later years, he bowled on leagues, and spent as much time as possible with his children and grandchildren attending school functions, sporting events, shopping, hanging out at the Dunes, the racetrack and loved to walk with his daughter at the Rugby track or bike trails. He looked forward to the holidays and spending time with the whole family. And enjoyed his monthly class luncheons and Friday night fish fry's with his best friends.
Over the past 10 years John’s passion was going to the drag races and cheering his son on! He looked forward to seeing everyone at the track and having a great time! He was so proud of his son, three-time champ of the Pro-E85 Racing Team.
John said his most precious gift in life was the birth of his children and grandchildren. He told us that he always wanted to travel back to West Virginia and re-visit his roots but unfortunately never fulfilled that wish.
On June 21, 2025 at 11am, a Military Honors graveside service will take place at Evergreen Memorial Park, 3815 W. 39th Avenue, Hobart, IN 46342. Family and close friends are invited to attend this service. A life celebration will take place in the near future and will be announced to family and friends. Burns Funeral Home & Crematory entrusted with arrangements. www.BurnsFuneral.com
This information and the picture below were obtained from: https://www.burnsfuneral.com/obituaries/john-blanchard-11/#!/Obituary. The picture above was obtained from the 1958 HHS Memories yearbook, made available by the Lake County Public Library, at: https://archive.org/details/HOHS1958Images/.
