William 'Bill' Blanchard

William “Bill” Blanchard, beloved Sedona resident, passed away on 06/30/2020, at the age
of 91. Bill was born in Riverside, California January 11th, 1929. He and his wife Lorraine
moved to Sedona in 1955 from Arcadia, California. At that time Sedona’s population was
only about 400 people and consisted of mostly cattle ranches and orchards. Bill’s love for
Sedona began in the 40s when he and his parents, the late Dr. Lesley and Marion Blanchard,
visited Sedona. His parents, natives of Tempe, Arizona (his mother went to high-school with
Ruth Jordan, the well-known resident of Sedona, and his father helped build one of the first
bridges in Tempe), moved to Sedona and Bill and Lorraine joined them a few years later.
After moving to Sedona, Bill worked odd jobs including building roads, fences, asphalt
paving and blasting; things he had never done before. He also put in water lines, one of
which was in Pine Flats. In 1960, Bill got his electrical contractor license and started his
business, Blanchard Electric, which was highly successful for 30 years, at which time he
sold the business to a long-time employee. In 1985, he became a reserve officer for the
Yavapai County Sheriff’s of Vice attending classes and instruction while he worked full-time
as an electrician. In 1990, he switched from County to Sedona Reserve and 6 months later
became a Sedona police officer at the age of 61. In addition to his regular police work he
was an officer who could be seen patrolling uptown on his bicycle. He participated in relay
bike races from Sedona to Cottonwood over several years for Special Olympics benefits. As
an accomplished marksman, he was selected to attend firearms school where he learned
how to train other officers. Bill was in charge of the Sedona Police Department’s shooting
range where he instructed other police officers while maintaining the range. The Sedona
Police Department named the range in his honor at a ceremony on 03/21/2007. He
continued as a police officer until age 80 at which time he retired.
Bill was active in Sedona’s volunteer fire department starting in 1957 where he was a
founding member of the Sedona-Oak Creek Fire Department. He became the Assistant Fire
Chief when he moved to the West Sedona area 9 years later and joined the Red Rock Fire
Department. He worked his way up to Fire Chief, a position he held from 1972 to 1978. He
was also involved in Sedona Search and Rescue for many years.
Bill was always interested in target shooting and was ranked as one of the top “Free pistol”
shooters in the country in 1976. In 1977 he went to the Benito Juarez games in Mexico City
and in 1978 went to the National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs. In 1982 he ranked
among the top 12 in the country. He was in line to try out for the U.S. Olympic team in 1984
when an acute back injury stopped him from competing on the last day of trials. He shared
his passion for target-practice by teaching his grandkids how to safely target-shoot using an
air-pistol at Easter picnics.
Bill cherished daily hikes on local Sedona trails but the view from Wilson Mountain was
particularly special to him. He loved spending time with Lorraine and their family, whether
it was hosting holiday parties, taking his kids to the rodeo when they were young, sharing
stories, cheering on the grandkids and great-grandkids at their soccer and baseball games,
or taking the grandkids to NAU football games. In earlier years he enjoyed hunting with
friends but later in life he simply enjoyed observing wildlife in their natural habitat. In the
early Sedona years, he and Lorraine square-danced wearing the traditional matching shirts
and dresses. They also played volleyball with a group of friends every Sunday night at the
Posse Grounds, where all of the men were named Bill (seriously), with the exception of one
who was Tom. After retirement Bill enjoyed meeting the guys for coffee each morning at the
local McDonald’s attempting to solve all the world’s problems.
Bill is survived by his wife, Lorraine, who was the love of his life for 69 years. They met in
Glendale, California while attending high school and began dating while attending Glendale
Community College. They married February 10th, 1951. After marrying, Bill spent a year in
the army fighting in the Korean War. Bill has 4 children; Dianne Connally (Richard), Paul
Blanchard (Maria), Elaine Laemmrich (Jim), and Linda Deringer (Kevin). There are 12
grandchildren, Amber Bartle (James), Erik Nelson (Kristen), Shane Nelson (Cheri), Michael
Cosentino (Tara), Alex Cosentino, Angie Cosentino, Ezra Pino (Ashley), Justin Pounder
(Francesca), Sarah Hall (Chad), Tiffany Deringer, Adam Deringer (Catey), and Tessa
Deringer. There are 27 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren.
A celebration of life ceremony is planned at a future date, hopefully in late September. Look
for an announcement in the Sedona Red Rock News and Verde Independent. For all who
knew Bill, he will be remembered as a kind, humble and caring man who gave so much to
the town he loved.