Frances Hallum Blanchard, 93, of Richmond died on Nov. 18, 2014, after a long but courageous battle with old age.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence Eley Blanchard Jr. They had been married 59 years at the time of his death in 2003. She is survived by four children: Dr. Lawrence Eley Blanchard III and his wife, Vickie Wimberley Blanchard, Neal Blanchard Johnson, Sally Blanchard Rawls and her husband, Frank Macklin Rawls, and Charles Augustus (Buck) Blanchard and his wife, Louise Browner (Weezie) Blanchard. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren: David Lawrence Blanchard and his wife, Whitney Smith Blanchard, Dr. Berkeley Blanchard Martin and her husband, Dr. Adam A. Martin, Austen Johnson Carr and her husband, Wylie Carr, Abigail Jolley Johnson, Anne Johnson Lamping and her husband, Curtis Lamping, Matthew Christopher Rawls, John Stephen Rawls and his wife, Theresa Rafferty Rawls, Michael Andrew Rawls and his wife, Kristin Grace Rawls, Charles Fuller Blanchard, John Mahaffey (Mac) Blanchard, Ann Pearman Blanchard, and Frances Hallum Blanchard, and six great-grandchildren.

Over the years, Frances was a member of the Junior League of Richmond, the Woman’s Club, the Tuckahoe Woman’s Club, the Tuckahoe Artists Association, the Junior Board of Retreat Hospital, the Women’s Board of Children’s Hospital, the Women’s Council of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Women’s Board of the Virginia Home for Boys. She was a member and an elder of First Presbyterian Church.

Frances particularly valued her membership in her bridge club, whose members nurtured, supported and consoled each other for the past 60 years.

Frances grew up in Rockingham, N.C. She attended Greensboro College and graduated from Duke University, where she met her beloved husband, Larry. They married during World War II and moved to Richmond following Larry’s graduation from Columbia University Law School.

Frances will be remembered for her ability to always find the positive in every challenge in her life. She also had the wonderful gift of being able to find good in every person. She will be greatly missed.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 4602 Cary St., Richmond. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia: Mission and Outreach, 110 W. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23220.