Carol Ann Blanchard

Carol Ann Blanchard, artist, animal lover, and student of human development, died of Parkinson's on December 1, 2016, in Columbia, MO, at the age of 79. Carol was born Nov. 21, 1937 in Oxnard, CA, to Alfred C. and Louise (Carter) Rodaway, and was the great-granddaughter of Ventura County pioneers Alfred B. and Mary (Gisler) Rodaway, and Edward L. and Julia (Dillon) Mitchell. Carol attended Santa Clara Elementary School and the Academy of St. Catherine's by the Sea in Ventura, graduating in 1955. She studied art at Ventura College, exhibiting paintings in shows from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles. In 1978 she completed a B.A. in psychology and sociology at the University of La Verne, then worked for over 13 years as a teaching assistant with developmentally disabled children at Camarillo State Hospital, retiring in 1995. Carol was married to John D. Blanchard, from 1959 to 1976, with whom she had two children: Ann and Brian. In 1980 she met Charlie (Bear) Stoffer, with whom she spent the rest of her life traveling, attending bike runs where she sold jewelry she created, and spending time in her garden growing vegetables and flowers including many orchids. Carol was preceded in death by her parents, Al and Louise Rodaway, and daughter, Ann Blanchard. Carol is survived by her companion Charlie Stoffer, sister Ellen Sanders and her husband Otto of Newbury Park, CA, her son Brian Blanchard and his wife Kirsten of Ventura, CA, and her grandson David Blanchard and his fiancé Jordan and great-grandson Wyatt of Santa Paula, CA. Carol's cremation occurred under the direction of Heartland Cremation and Burial society. Her ashes will be spread at her home in Missouri, but the family would like to invite friends to a Ventura County picnic in the spring. Email [email protected] for details. Please donate in honor of Carol to the Humane Society or the American Parkinson Disease Association.