LeRoy Egan Blanchard

LeRoy Egan Blanchard was born to Edward Blanchard and Violet Egan on February 15th, 1930 in Far Rockaway, NY. At the time of his mother's passing, when he was only 10 years old, he and his sister, Virginia, who was 8 at the time, were raised by their aunt and uncle, Joseph and Mary Deluca and lived with their 4 cousins, John, Norma, Audrey, and Teddy. LeRoy considered them all his brothers and sisters. He went to a technical high school and built the first television in his neighborhood from a kit that his aunt purchased.

He worked as a foreman electrician when he met the woman that he would marry, Eleanor Nash, on a blind date. During that time, he was in the Naval Reserves and was the first reservist to earn his dolphins as a submarine sailor. LeRoy and Eleanor were married on June 20th, 1953 in Long Island, NY. After they were married, they moved to Fr. Lauderdale, Florida. LeRoy earned his Bachelor's of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami and then accepted a position in California with Hughes Aircraft Company. He continued his education and earned his Master's Degree from USC.

One of his greatest accomplishments was designing the camera that went on the Surveyor Spacecraft that took the first color pictures on the moon's surface. Without his technology, man wouldn't have been able to step foot on the moon. He was asked to visit NASA during the Apollo missions to determine what parts on the Surveyor should be recovered for additional study. The camera he designed was retrieved by Apollo #12 and is now in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. The development of the Surveyor camera became a standard in space technology. A $1 million bonus was offered if an immediate picture could be taken upon touchdown. The touchdown of the space craft was during the dark period of the moon. LeRoy developed the technology of Earthshine, using the reflected light from Earth to get that first picture. The pictures from his camera and the technology used were featured in the July 1st, 1966 Edition of Life Magazine. He also worked on the Landsat Satellite and the Thematic Mapper as well as numerous classified cold war spy satellites.

While working at Hughes, LeRoy purchased 22 acres of raw land in Escondido, California and designed and planted his own automated avocado orchard. In his free time, he loved to dance, travel, sail, and even water ski. He and Eleanor traveled to the British Iles, Alaska, Aruba, Tahiti, and all throughout Europe. After he retired from Hughes Aircraft, he became a Real Estate Broker, Certified Financial Planner, and was the owner of his own Insurance and Investment Company as well as a Real Estate Firm.

LeRoy is survived by his wife of 61 years, Eleanor, his three children, Thomas, Debra, and Michelle, eight grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He is loved by many and will be greatly missed.