Guest recital: Across the Grain – The Lawrentian lawrentian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lawrentian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Blanchard Youngblood went home to be with Jesus late Wednesday night after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 90.
Blanchard was born in Hurricane, Louisiana in the summer of 1930. A barefoot country boy, he helped support his family by picking cotton and taking care of the farm. He moved to Minden in 1943, remaining there for the entirety of his life.
After serving 6 years in the National Guard, he served the community of Minden well. He was City Clerk and Treasurer for 17 years, while also serving as long-time Assistant Fire Chief. He was a deacon and Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church for many years. Blanchard and his friend, T.C. Bloxom, ran YB Farms as a hobby and side business. Through that, they became mentors to a whole generation of young men, teaching them life lessons through hauling hay. Upon his retirement from the City, he became Vice-President of (then) Webster Bank until fully retiring in 1997. He spent his later years wit