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SANDWICH - Joseph R. Blanchard, 73, of Sandwich, formerly of Northampton, passed away on Aug. 31, 2010, surrounded by his family. He was the husband of Marilyn (Murphy) Blanchard, to whom he was married 48 years.

Joe served in the United States Coast Guard, where he was a crewmember during the 1957 Transit of the Northwest Passage aboard the USCG Cutter Spar. In 2007, he was awarded the Arctic Service Medal.

In 1958, Joe began a 36-year career with United Parcel Service as a package car driver in Massachusetts. He was promoted in 1962. He held a wide variety of assignments ranging from South New England customer service manager and East Region delivery information manager to national MBC coordinator. In 1977, Joe was promoted to East Bay district manager in Oakland, Calif. In 1982, he served as district manager in South Florida and in 1990 he was the manager of the Americas region. From 1991 until his retirement, Joe was the South Central region manager.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Jeffrey Blanchard of Nashville, Tenn.; daughter, Jill Blanchard of Mashpee; mother, Helen (Britt) Blanchard of Northampton; sister, Kathleen O'Neil and husband Jack of Northampton; niece, Peggy Bracia and husband Bill of Springfield; nephew, Jack O'Neil of Fla.; and grandnephew, Brenden O'Neil of Fla.

Visiting hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 6, in the Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, 74 Algonquin Ave., at Route 151, Mashpee. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Christ the King Church, 3 Jobs Fishing Road, Mashpee, Mass, 02649, followed by burial at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Boston Pops Orchestra, Symphony Hall, 301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, MA 02115 or a charity of one's choice. For online guest book and directions, please visit www.ccgfuneralhome.com