She was born on December 29, 1926 in Wilmerding, PA to the late William and Mary Smola. She graduated from Turtle Creek High School in 1945 and went on to work at the Westinghouse Air Brake in East Pittsburgh, PA until her marriage in 1948.
During the course of her 46-year marriage, she and her husband Thomas moved often, living in Maryland, Michigan, Ohio and Florida. She loved to travel; and their journeys took them throughout the U.S., Canada, England and Ireland. She and Thomas also owned sailboats, and they sailed the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Great Lakes, the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
During the time she lived in Florida in the 1980s, Blanche served as Materials Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 13, Shell Point, FL.
Along with her many creative pursuits, Blanche had a lifelong passion for reading and became an avid button and coin collector. She was one of the founding members of the Peach State Button Club as well as a member of the National Button Society and the Florida State Button Society.
Her husband, Thomas J. Fitzpatrick; her parents, William and Mary Smola; her sister, Pauline Smola, and her brother, Edward Smola, preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Sandra Fitzpatrick and Randolph Lewis; her sister- in-law, Gertrude Smola; her nephews, William Smola (Debi) and Steven Smola; her nieces, Sharon Richert (Randy) and Wendy Doerzbacher (Tim). She is also survived by several great nieces and nephews and their children.
No services are planned. Memorial contributions may be made to Defenders of Wildlife and the U.S. Humane Society, charities that Blanche supported monthly for many years.
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