RENE BLANCHARD

Rene C. Blanchard passed away Nov. 2, 2016. He was born July 18, 1932, in Montreal, Canada. A Las Vegas resident since 1959, he owned and operated Blanchard Construction. Some of his commercial projects include the YMCA (Meadows Lane), Sunrise Medical Center and many churches, schools and fire stations. In his youth, Rene played ice hockey and was a competitive ice skater and swimmer. He attended the University of Montreal and then moved to northern Canada to work as a drift man for Normetal Corporation, Steep Rock Iron Mine and Pronto Uranium Mine. After he tired of mining, he moved to Salt Lake City in 1955 to work as a carpenter. In 1962, Rene proudly became a United States citizen. In 1963, he was involved in bringing the General Contractor Association, AGC Charter to Las Vegas. He was an active member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce (JC’s), a loyal member of the Las Vegas Rotary Club since 1978 and a devoted member of the Las Vegas Ski and Social Club. Rene is survived by the love of his life, Terry Powers; his daughters, Sonja St Amant (Bruce) and Lisa Blanchard (Allan); son, Alan; five grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. Rene was known for his love of sports which includes volleyball, snow skiing, swimming, table tennis and dancing with his favorite partner, Terry. He and Terry also loved to travel. Their adventures include traveling all over the United Sates in their travel trailer, as well as tours of Europe, Central America, Africa (Egypt, Tanzania and Kenya), Southeast Asia, Israel, Jordan, and Australia. They also spent many months each year relaxing in their home in Costa Rica. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 1811 Pueblo Vista Drive. Celebration of Rene’s life will follow the services. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Catholic Charities, the Las Vegas Rotary Foundation or the charity of your choice in Rene’s behalf.