Thomas J. BLANCHET

BLANCHET, THOMAS J., 87 - of Freehold and Pleasant Mills, who was co-founder of Freehold Cartage, Inc., a local refuse disposal and regional transportation company, died Thursday at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune.Mr. Blanchet was born in Hoboken, on September 9, 1917. In his youth his family moved to Quebec, Canada for a few years before returning to the Atlantic Highlands area of Monmouth County. He was a 1938 Graduate of Rutgers University which he entered at 16 years of age. After graduation he was employed by the Farmer's Home Administration and then the Cooperative Extension Service as a 4H Club Agent in Warren County.Mr. Blanchet joined the Marine Corps in 1942 and attended Officer Candidate School in Ft. Belvoir, VA. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in July, 1942, and became a Captain on August 1, 1944. He was assigned to the First Provisional Marine Battalion and stationed in Northern Ireland in 1943-1944.In 1945 he became a Rifle Company Commander, 29th Marine, 6th Division and was deployed in the South Pacific. Capt. Blanchet was involved in the brutal battle for Sugar Loaf Hill on the island of Okinawa in May of 1945. Capt. Blanchet's Rifle Company of 280 men suffered over 220 casualties in a four day period in the assault on Sugar Loaf Hill. Capt. Blanchet was one of the few Rifle Company Commanders to survive. Capt. Blanchet remained in the South Pacific preparing for the invasion of the Japanese mainland. After the Japanese surrendered, Capt. Blanchet volunteered for duty in the pursuitof a renegade Japanese Commander and his troops located on an adjacent island that had refused to surrender. He was discharged in March, 1946, and remained in the Reserves for a number of years.After the war Mr. Blanchet took a job as a lending officer for Hunterton County National Bank. He then took a position with Dorf Equipment Company, an agricultural and industrial equipment company in Remington, as General Manager.He moved to Freehold in 1952 after accepting a position as Vice President and General Manager of C.H. Roberson's an International Harvester farm and construction equipment dealer then located on South Street in the Borough of Freehold. Mr. & Mrs. Blanchet also maintained a home in Pleasant Mills, for the past 30 years.In 1962, Mr. Blanchet and his wife Sally along with two other local business couples founded Freehold Cartage, Inc. They initially operated the business out of their home while raising their family. Over time, Mr. Blanchet and his wife acquired complete ownership of the company. Eventually the company grew from one truck with Mr. Blanchet driving and laboring on the refuse collection routes in the early morning hours before attending his full time job at Roberson's to the 400 employees it has today. Mr. Blanchet was the President of the Company from 1962-1994. He then assumed the position as Chairman of the Board and remained active in the business until his recent illness.Being the typical entrepreneur he was involved in many community activities. Mr. Blanchet was a former member of the CentraState Medical Center Board of Trustees and the Foundation Board of Trustees. He was a member of the Old Tennent Presbyterian Church, and served as past president and a member of the Church Board of Trustees. And he also served as president of the Old Tennent Church Cemetery Association. He was a member and former Chairman of the Monmouth County Solid Waste Advisory Council having served from 1972 to 2004. Having been appointed by former NJ Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Mr. Blanchet served on the NJ State Solid Waste Advisory Council. He was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Western Monmouth YMCA, former member of the NJ DEP Sludge Task Force. He was also former Chairman of the Monmouth County Private Industry Council.Surviving are his wife of 62 years the former Sally Phillis, a daughter & son-in-law, Suzanne & Greg Hirst of Sweetwater; two sons and two daughters-in-law; Tim & Susan Blanchet of Upper Freehold Twp. and Bill and Marnie Blanchet of Severna Park, MD, eight grandchildren: Ken, Blair, Sara, Chris, Matt, & Joe Blanchet and Michael & Michelle Hirst. Visiting hours will be on Monday, August 22, 2005, from 2-4 & 7-9pm at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road, Freehold. Friends and relatives are invited to attend his funeral services on Tuesday at 11:00a.m. at the Old Tennent Presbyterian Church, 448 Tennent Road, Tennent, NJ. Interment to follow in Old Tennent Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Mr. Blanchet may be made to the CentraState Medical Center Healthcare Foundation, 916 Route 33, Suite 6, Freehold, NJ 07728 would be appreciated. For directions, information or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.comPublished in The Press of Atlantic City on 8/21/2005.