Topsail Beach Mayor Morton Blanchard, a longtime resident and public servant of the Pender County town, died Sunday afternoon, according to a town release.
“Mayor Blanchard leaves a huge voice in the Town of Topsail Beach,” the release states. “His leadership, wisdom, and compassion will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
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The husband, father, and grandfather was appointed mayor about five months ago after former Mayor Steve Smith died last September.
Blanchard moved to Topsail Beach in 2004, though he’d been going to the island his entire life up to that point. The Wallace native’s family bought property on the island in 1956, about seven years before Topsail Beach was established.
Blanchard bought property in the town in 1998. He attended Western Carolina University and Wake Tech, where he studied electronics and refrigeration. He operated Blanchard Refrigeration, a commercial refrigeration company, since 1976.
Prior to their move to Topsail Beach, Blanchard and his wife of more than 40 years, Patricia, also a Wallace native, lived in Rose Hill for 31 years, raising their two sons, Joe and Benjamin.
He served 12 of those years as a town commissioner and chaired the Rose Hill Chamber of Commerce for three years.
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Blanchard served as a Topsail Beach commissioner for more than a decade.
“Mayor Blanchard had a passion for serving his community and has worked on many initiatives for the Town but worked especially hard on trying to bring public sewer service to residents and property owners,” the town release states.
A celebration of his life is planned for 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at the Historic Assembly Hall in Topsail Beach. Padgett Funeral Home of Wallace is handling the arrangements.
