Mr. David G. Blanchette, 84, of Treasure Island, Florida, passed away in Lancaster, New Hampshire on June 16, 2026 in the care and presence of his family.

David was born in Concord, Vermont on January 4, 1942, the first of four children to the late Louis and Ruth (Drew) Blanchette. He grew up in Dalton, New Hampshire, attended local public schools and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1964. He later completed his graduate studies at the University of Oregon. David spoke fondly of his upbringing in northern New Hampshire, including his father’s musicianship and his siblings with whom he was very close.

David proudly served in the New Hampshire Army National Guard from 1964 to 1970.

On May 14, 1966, David married his first love, Genese Pelletier, the only daughter of a prominent local farming family. David was a beloved new member of the Pelletier family, and he often spoke of spending summers helping with the haying and other farm chores. David and Genese settled in Gilman, Vermont, where they raised their two children, Robbie and Jeanne and were very active in social, civic and church activities. They became very close with their initial landlords John and Doris King, who became like family and were known as Robbie and Jeanne’s “adoptive grandparents”.

David dedicated most of his professional career to the paper industry. He worked as the Energy Manager for the Gilman Paper Mill and continued in similar roles following the transition of the mill to Georgia Pacific, ultimately retiring from Simpson Paper Company. He was well known for his hard work and dedication to the mill and the paper/water power industry and made many lifelong friends in that role. He also owned and operated his own business, Gilman Energy Consultants, LLC.

In 2000, David retired and with Genese moved to their home on Lake Seymour in Morgan, Vermont. David loved life on the lake, where days were spent on improvement projects, running on the local roads and reading National Geographic and scientific journals, and evenings boating on the lake after one of Genese’s world-class home cooked meals. He spent many days entertaining his grandchildren there.

David was an active member of his community and enjoyed a wide range of activities throughout his life, including involvement with the American Legion, Associated Industries of Vermont, TAPPI, and the Energy Engineers of America. In his free time, he loved puzzles, bowling, and competitive track events, even participating in the Senior Olympics. David was a lifelong fitness and competitive runner and was often seen running the back roads of Gilman during his lunch breaks from work. Like his father, David was an accomplished trumpet player in his youth and enjoyed big band music and played with The Ambassadors for 30 years.

Following the passing of his wife Genese on June 12, 2013, David divided his time between Morgan, Vermont and Treasure Island, Florida, ultimately making the decision to sell the Lake Seymour camp and relocate primarily to Florida. David and Genese shared 47 years of marriage before her passing.

On October 25, 2014, David married his second wife Mary Crosgrove Blanchette whom he met in Florida. Throughout their marriage, David and Mary enjoyed retired life in Florida with seasonal visits to her family in Pennsylvania and David’s family in New Hampshire and Vermont, as well as the extensive relatives throughout the region. David was diligent in maintaining relationships with family members from both his and Genese’s families and maintained oral histories of each so his grandchildren could know their heritage. David and Mary travelled extensively throughout America and Europe.

David was a lifelong practicing Roman Catholic, and spent much of his later years reading his bible and guiding his children and grandchildren.

David is predeceased in life by his parents and his beloved first wife Genese (Pelletier) Blanchette and his sister Diane (Blanchette) Mears.

He is survived by his second wife Mary Cosgrove, his brothers Dean Blanchette and his wife Teresa of Lancaster, NH and Douglas Blanchette and his wife Carol, also of Lancaster.

He is further survived by his son Robbie and his wife Angela of Lancaster, NH and their children Josef and Ivory, his daughter Jeanne Nadeau and her husband Andrew of Lancaster, and their children John, Rev. Father Andre, Maria, Marceline, Noah and his wife Moriah, Laura (Condi) and her husband Ethan, Lucia, Isabelle, Alyssa and Evangeline, as well as his stepdaughters Mary Jane Cosgrove, Kelli Cosgrove and husband Ken Flowers, Donna Sells and Sue Irving and her husband Rich and step grandchildren Mallory Sells, Maddy Sells and Donovan Cosgrove, and step great-grandchildren Christopher Fox and Ellie Sells as well as nieces, nephews and cousins.

Calling hours will be held on Sunday, June 21 from 5:30 to 8:30pm at Bailey Funeral Home in Lancaster, NH. A funeral mass celebrated by David’s grandson Fr. Andre Nadeau will be held at All Saints Catholic Church in Lancaster on Monday, June 22 at 11am. A graveside burial will follow at Summer Street Cemetery, followed by a luncheon to be held at the All Saints Church parish hall.