Blanchet

Contributed by Connie (Blanchet) Thomson

Paul Maurice Blanchet, “Frenchie,” (1908-1993) was born in Edmundston, N.B. on February 3, 1908. With his family he moved to the Salt House in Rothesay Park in the summer of 1911, although the family soon took up permanent residence at 52 Gondola Point Road (Until 1942). “Frenchie” graduated from Rothesay Consolidated School and the Royal Military College in Kingston. He went on to earn an engineering degree from McGill University and worked for a time for the Steel Company of Canada. In 1932, Mr. Blanchet returned to Rothesay to work in the accounting firm of his father Paul F. Blanchet, founder of the New Brunswick Institute of Chartered Accountants. “Frenchie” married Patricia L. Harrison in 1936 and had three children before going off to war as a Major with the 8th Canadian Hussars, a company that saw action in Italy and Holland. He returned in 1945 and trained as a chartered accountant. After the war, Mr. and Mrs. Blanchet had nine more children. Mr. Blanchet loved the river and was either in it or on it most of his days. His daughter Connie remembers fondly all the summers spend sailing, canoeing, swimming, and sunning on the beach, bonfires, and the great thrill of rowing boats over the roads during the spring freshet. Even in the winter the family frequently skated on the river and around Long Island. Mr. Blanchet was the Comptroller for the Saint John General Hospital until he retired in 1973. He died on August 6, 1993.