Celebrant Pam Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Blanche's life journey began with her family. She was born in Los Angeles to her mother Alvina and her father John. Her single mother raised Blanche and her two sisters. For work, her mother cleaned homes but the family was poor. Raising the girls on her own, Alvina was a very strict mother. The girls couldn't bicycle or skate. In fact, Blanche found one skate and, when her mother wasn't home, she would go outside and play on one skate. She said she would have gotten into a lot of trouble if her mother ever found out. At the age of 14, Blanche took a ride on a motorcycle. She never told her mother that either.

When she was 15, she had her eye on a 16-year-old boy named Alfred. One day, she watched Alfred with a group of kids in the neighborhood as they played a ballgame and then played another game to see who could spit the longest distance. Blanche said Alfred had a smile like the Joker, he had a good sense of humor and he was funny. Alfred and everyone else could see that Blanche was absolutely beautiful – she looked like a pin-up girl with a tiny waist and a beautiful face. Blanche was feisty, fun, and definitely the life of the party, whereas Alfred was more serious with a dry wit. But it was the perfect match. Their mutual interest grew over the next couple of years. At the age of 18, Blanche graduated from Polytechnic High School. Meanwhile, Alfred was drafted into the Army at the age of 19. While in combat during World War II, Alfred managed to write letters to Blanche, whom he called Kat Eyes. He always finished his letters by writing, "I love you." When Alfred came home on furlough, he and Blanche were married in a lovely church wedding on May 14th, 1944. She wore a beautiful white dress and he was in his military uniform. Their honeymoon was brief in a hotel in downtown Los Angeles because he had to go back to the war. Alfred finished his service to our country two years later in 1946. Blanche and Alfred had a good marriage. They loved each other and supported each other. The couple bought their home on North Hoover Street, where they lived for the rest of their days. In the 1950s, Blanche moved to Okinawa, Japan where she worked as a civilian for a year. She did administrative and secretarial work.

Blanche and Alfred's greatest joys came with the births of their two children: Patrick and Candace. With each birth, Alfred dropped Blanche off at the hospital while he went off to work as a surveyor for the day. By the end of the workday, they had another child. Blanche was very supportive and loved her children very much. She was a fantastic mother who was great fun. Creating traditions, everything centered around her family. Alfred would come home around 5 o'clock from work and the family would have dinner together every evening. Family time was a priority. Once a week, the family would go to Alfred's mother home. Grandma Maria would make wonderful food and extended family such as Alfred's siblings Molly, Josephine, Mary, Carlos and their children might be there, along with Yolanda and little Rudy.

Blanche's sister, Marie, and her kids, Jesse and Shelly, lived in the back of the house, so the kids were really raised together. Jesse and Shelly have some amazing memories about Aunty Blanche. She was really their second mom. They had Friday night dinners together for many years. Blanche took care of Jesse and Shelly when they were sick and made them feel loved. Blanche was a seamstress and she made clothes and dresses for Candy and Shelly. And she loved to sew Vogue patterns.

When Jesse came home with his wife, Claudette, who was from India, Blanche welcomed her with open arms. She helped the couple get their first apartment and she helped Claudette get a job. She also taught Claudette how to go shopping in a grocery store and how to buy fruits and vegetables.

The greatest loss of Blanche and Alfred's life was the passing of their teenage son, Patrick. There is no greater loss than that of a child. After his passing, Blanche went back to work at WP in customer service, where she worked for seven years. And Alfred started going back to work some evenings after dinnertime. It was very difficult for the entire family.

With many favorites in life, Blanche loved pansies and flowers. Her favorite color was orange just like the orange flowers here today. She loved pansies so much, she even named her Cockapoo: Pansy. With a black and tan face, Pansy looked like a Pansy. She also loved their other dog, Ivan the Terrible. Blanche loved shopping and going to sales at the May Company in downtown Los Angeles. She was always dressed beautifully with jewelry and she always wore makeup. She felt better if she was wearing lipstick. Adrianna has been living in the back of the house and she watched Blanche put on makeup one day. Adrianna told Candace family, "I had no idea how fabulous your mother was!"

Blanche was a great cook. Shelly remembers her stuffed cabbage, hamburger patties, and enchiladas. And Jesse loved her Pound Cake. Blanche loved eating sweets. She was very proud that Candy went on to become a professional chef. Thanksgiving was spent with family or friends. And for Christmas, Alfred's mother made the best tamales.

There was some traveling over the years. Blanche traveled to Mexico and Newport Beach. She also traveled to New York and Paris with Alfred. She loved listening to popular music. Her favorite music was listening to her grandniece Jessica play the violin. She handmade rompers for Jessica when she was young and she also took her to get her ears pierced when the time came. Sewing and reading books were a big part of her life. She was always self-educating and reading. So, it makes sense that her favorite television station was the Discovery Channel. Blanche loved to go Chumash with Shelly and Richard for gambling. She played the penny slots. And she was successful. Sometimes she'd win $400 or $500, but she also spent that much, too.

No matter what was going on in her life, Blanche was thoughtful and caring. She was by Alfred's until the end. Sadly, he passed in 2005. Blanche missed him tremendously and she'd say, "I miss Alfred." They were partners in life and she said – even at her most embarrassing – Alfred always loved her and accepted her. He was the love of her life… and she was the love of his life.

Three years ago, Candy quit her job to take care of her mother. Then, several weeks ago, Candy had a health condition and she was hospitalized. So, Blanche moved into a Board and Care in Brea, near Jesse. Candy and Shelly visited a couple of times a week and then Jesse visited every day because he lived closer.

Blanche was laughing and joking until the end. She told Jesse and Claudette that she wanted to drink a Tequila Sunrise. And she told their daughter to "send her a postcard from Hawaii with nice looking hunks on it." She laughed and she loved seeing her family.

She longed to be reunited with Alfred again. Ten days before she passed, she even told one of the girls at the Board and Care, "Hey girl, come over here; bring me Alfred." Four days before she passed marked her 90th birthday and she smiled, she sang softly, and she had a bite of birthday cake. In the end, Jesse and Claudette were in her room first, but Blanche waited until Candy and Shelly arrived for the final goodbye. Her family told her they loved her and they gave her permission to go to be with Alfred and Patrick again. Blanche passed away peacefully.

Blanche showed her purpose repeatedly. She made everyone's life richer and she made everyone smile. Everyone will miss Blanche… they will miss her fabulous style, her sense of humor and her wit. She was so funny. Her advice to everyone would be to remember her, but move forward, live it up, and enjoy your life.

She was preceded in death by her parents Alvina and John; her sisters Marie and Llueve; Alfred's siblings Mary and Carlos; her son Patrick; and her husband Alfred.

She is loved and remembered by her daughter Candace; her nephew Jesse, his wife Claudette, their two children Christopher and Karen, and their five grandchildren; his niece Shelly, her husband Richard; their two children Jessica and Vina, and five grand children; Alfred's siblings Molly and Josephine and their children; nieces, nephews, cousins; friends Josephine and William; her neighbor Adrianna; extended family and friends.

See Alfred's marker here: http://celebrantpam.com/memorials/alfredaguirre.html.