John A. "Gus" Blanchard III

John Augustus Blanchard, III—always known and loved as Gus—was born in Laurel, MS on October 17, 1942. He was diagnosed in 2020 with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) and achieved his goal of being “the best patient” for the next few years as his body succumbed to Parkinsonian symptoms. Gratefully, he kept his memory till the end and died peacefully surrounded by his wife and children at Waverly Gardens in North Oaks, MN on March 10, 2025. He was 82.

As a child, he moved with his brother Bob and their parents, Gus and Sara, to Dallas, TX, and moved again as a teen to Phoenix, AZ where he graduated from Phoenix Central High School. If you knew Gus for more than ten minutes, you knew he went to Princeton University and was a Tiger to his core. College was a formative time in his life, both intellectually and socially, that he enjoyed re-living again and again at reunions with the class of 1965 and his Tower Club brothers. His history major led to his lifelong love of reading and learning. He read three papers every morning with his large coffee.

Immediately after graduation Gus went to work for AT&T, but his career was interrupted by three years in the Army, including Officer Candidate School and a tour in Vietnam in 1968. Before leaving the country, he re-met the love of his life, Mary Hibbard, with whom he corresponded from afar, and whom he married (in a hotel room with a 103 fever due to that year’s flu pandemic) on November 30, 1968, mere weeks after returning from the war. They moved to Philadelphia, and within a few years their daughters Kate and Anne made it a foursome, perfect for road trips and roller coasters. His career at AT&T flew him all over the country and often to Japan, and it took the family to DC, MA (where he earned a master’s degree at MIT), KS, and NJ until he retired (for the first time) in 1991. Gus and Mary then moved to Chicago where Gus worked for two different companies, and moved again to White Bear Lake where Gus became the proud CEO of the Deluxe Corporation in 1995. Through Deluxe, he built close working relationships in India and initiated a diversity program that was ahead of its time. He returned to Phoenix for a couple of years when Deluxe spun off another company, EFunds, and finally retired again in 2000.

Even in retirement, Gus stayed busy with both corporate and volunteer leadership, including his church, Norwest Bank/Wells Fargo, Minnesota Opera, Luther Seminary, and Life Floor. Opera was another lifelong love of his, beginning in high school, along with golf. In his recent years, when Gus couldn’t sleep, he liked to try to remember all the golf courses he had played. He loved to make frequent cross-country road trips to visit friends and family, and also traveled far and wide in Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Five decades of summers were spent with family on the shore of their beloved Torch Lake in northern Michigan.

Gus loved living in the land of snow and ice—he never considered moving somewhere warmer—not least because of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, where he and Mary have been dedicated members for almost 30 years. Through the church they made lifelong friends and surrogate children and grandchildren (a.k.a. “the good kids”) who enriched Gus’s life with laughter, conversation, TV sports, and lots of shared meals and cocktails. In 2021, Gus and Mary (and their kitten, Sassy) moved to Waverly Gardens where they spent four challenging but meaningful years among friends and beloved caretakers as his health deteriorated. He inspired everyone with his positive attitude and sense of humor about the indignities of a body that no longer did what he wanted it to do. In the end, what remained were faith, hope, and especially love.

Lambchop, Dad, Bro, Poppop: Gus he is survived by his wife, Mary; his daughters Kate Blanchard (Chris Moody) and Anne Carpenter (Scott); his grandchildren Lizzy Carpenter, Gus Moody, and Charlie Carpenter; his brother Bob; his brother- and sister-in-law, Charles and Judith Hibbard; nieces and many close cousins; and so many other people he loved as dearly as if they were family.

Gus Blanchard was an epic man who led an epic life. He is impossible to describe in a few short words, but certain terms come up again and again when people talk about him: kindness, equanimity, generosity, joy, and great, unconditional love. His family would like to thank everyone who cared for him at the Gables, and everyone who called and visited in his last weeks. One of the last things he said to those at his bedside was, “There are fifty of you and only one of me but I think I could out-love you all.”

His life will be celebrated at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church on Friday, March 21 at 11:00 a.m., after a 10:00 a.m. visitation. A luncheon will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to the St. Andrew’s Foundation or the LBDA ( Lewy Body Dementia Association).