BANGOR – Blanche B. Martin, 84, died July 16, 2004, at a Bangor hospital, after a brief illness. She was born Dec. 31, 1919, in Wakefield, Mass., to John and Bertha (Bradford) Haley. She was educated in Wakefield, Mass., and Bangor schools. She was predeceased by her husband of 46 years, William E. Martin; two sisters, Helen Lane of Abington, Mass., and Carmelita Bell of California; and a brother, Donald Eckert of Washington. She is survived by brothers, David Eckert, of Milo, and Philip Eckert of Orrington; a sister, Doris Clement of Biddeford; a daughter, Paula McAuley of Nantucket, Mass.; a son, Neil B. Martin of Freeport; three grandchildren; great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews. A woman of undaunted spirit, she raised her family on then rural outer Essex Street, combining creativity and ingenuity to make those years an adventure for all who knew her. Working in conjunction with the Department of Human Services and the Good Samaritan Home, she served as a foster mother in her home, to nearly two hundred youngsters, over a 25-year period. When her husband died in 1986, her natural intellectual curiosity led her into a hobby of antique postcard collecting, which expanded to the point that she was able to contribute to published histories, of Maine and Bangor, by authors Will Anderson and Dick Shaw. She lived her life well, seeing adversity, not as a roadblock, but as a stepping stone to the future. Funeral services will be private for the family at Maple Grove Cemetery, Bangor. In lieu of flowers, gifts in her memory may be made to Good Samaritan Agency, 100 Ridgewood Drive, Bangor ME 04401. A service of Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor.
BLANCHE B. MARTIN
