VINTON - Marguerite Julia Blanchard, age 88, died Wednesday, October 17, 2007 at the Vinton Lutheran Home following an extended illness.
      A Funeral Mass will be held at 2 PM, Monday, October 22, 2007 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Vinton with Father David Ambrosy as Celebrant.  Interment will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Vinton.  Friends may call at Phillips Funeral Home Chapel, 212 E. 6th St., in Vinton from 4 to 7 PM, on Sunday where a Vigil Service will begin at 6:30 PM.  A Memorial Fund has been established.
      Known to her family and friends as "Julie", she was born February 21, 1919 at Eagle Center to Frank and Genevieve (McGarvy) Klein.  On October 17, 1942 she was united in marriage to L. A. "Bill" Blanchard at Orlando, Florida.  The couple made their home in Vinton for many years and retired to Sebring, FL in 1988.  Bill preceded his wife in death in 1988 and Julie continued to live in Florida until returning to Iowa in 2004.
   She loved spending time with friends playing bridge, golfing and traveling.  She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Vinton.
     She is survived by her sons, Tom (Melodie) Blanchard of Inglewood, CO, Tim (Marilyn) Blanchard of Iowa Falls, Bill (Dixie) Blanchard of Yakima, WA, and Dan (Jolene) Blanchard of Belle Plaine; thirteen grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; her sisters, Joanne (Jack) Dane of LaPorte City, and Betty (Sam) Wyatt of Fontana, CA; and her brother, Dick Klein of Waterloo.
     In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by three sisters, and six brothers.