Obit:
Doris Elaine (Blanchard) Wolford passed away on July 20, 2019 of causes incident to age. Born November 1, 1935 in Coldwater, Michigan, Doris was 83 years old.
Doris is the daughter of John and Allie Belle Blanchard, and the last of their twelve children. She is preceded in death by her husband Larry Wolford, her parents and all her brothers and sisters. She is also preceded in death by her son, a granddaughter, a grandson, and a great-granddaughter, Lily.
Mom was raised in Coldwater and graduated from Coldwater High School. She married her first husband and moved to California. She raised three children as she lived in several places around the country – Nebraska, Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee.
She loved to do crafts, needlework, sewing, knitting and crocheting. She loved to square dance and was always looking for a dance to go to. In her later years, she volunteered at the hospital gift store and delivered meals on wheels. But her greatest passion was games of all types. She never went anywhere without a pack of Skip Bo cards, and she would always say, "Just one more game!" And mom's favorite thing was Christmas, or any time she got presents. She loved presents and could never wait to open them, sometimes cheating by opening them early!
After her divorce, she moved back to her home in Coldwater, where she was reunited with a classmate, Larry Wolford. They were married for 35 years before Larry passed away in October of 2017. Every month, Doris and Larry would celebrate on the day of the month they got married by going out to dinner.
While Mom was on her own in Coldwater after Larry's passing, her nephew Bruce Blanchard jumped in to help her.
He visited, organized her money, paid her bills and finally, helped sell her estate and her house. The family appreciates what Bruce did for his "second Mom", and will always remember how he took care of our mother. Mom moved to Utah to be near family in April of 2018, and has resided at Apple Tree Assisted Living in Kaysville, Utah since then, being lovingly taken care of by them and her daughter, Elaine Runyan, who took over all the responsibilities from Bruce.
Doris leaves behind two daughters, Elaine Downing Runyan and Tamara (Tom) Sells and was preceded in death by her son, Kim Downing. She also has seven grandchildren; Justin (Shana) Runyan, Nathan (Ashlee) Runyan, Rachael (deceased), Taryn (Jeff) Sawyer, Scott Sells, Jason Sells (deceased), and Suzanne Downing. She also leaves behind eight great-grandchildren; Jaydon, Joryn, Gabriel, Julian, Sage, Russell, Brooks and Annie.
Doris was sent back to Coldwater to rest with her husband, Larry.
The family is holding a private memorial service in Utah. The Coldwater Burial will be on Thursday, August 8, 2019 at 10 a.m. at Mason Cemetery, Coldwater, Michigan.