Nell Blanchard

Lena Wynell Blanchard, age 88 of Gatesville, passed away on Thursday, September 21, 2023, surrounded by her family.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, September 29, 2023, at Scott’s Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor Charles McKamie officiating.  Interment will follow at Greenbriar Cemetery.  The family will receive visitors from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Nell was born March 18, 1935, to Samuel Henry and Mattie Olean Bates Faubion in Evant, Texas.  She grew up in the Purmela area, attending school in both Purmela and Gatesville.  She graduated from Gatesville High School in 1952.  She married William Earl “Bill” Blanchard in 1953, and they had five children.  She served as the Church Secretary for the First Baptist Church in Gatesville, worked as the Director of the Correspondence Center for Texas State Technical Institute, and later retired from the City of Waco Utilities Department.  She married Vincent Pilgrim in 1977, and they made their home in Lorena.  Nell loved unconditionally and was everyone’s best friend.  She was genuine, had a servant’s heart, and always sacrificed herself for the benefit of others.  She especially enjoyed being Mama Nell to all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Her beloved dog, Lucy, was the light of her life.   

As a young girl, Nell accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior and taught her children about the love of Jesus and the things in life that really matter.

Nell was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Vincent Pilgrim; son, Michael Paul Blanchard; granddaughter, Shawna Denise Blanchard; and grandson-in-law, James Willie Register.

She is survived by her children, Kimberly Haines and husband, Mark, Tammi Shoaf and husband, Ray, Tim Blanchard and wife, Sheri, and Tom Blanchard and wife, Tammy; sisters, Joyce Anne Rose, Marsha Kay Gurley, and Glenda Gail Berry and husband, Lloyd; grandchildren, Amanda Necessary and husband, Bret, Bridget Register and husband, Sid, Melissa Bartlett and husband, Ryan, Amber Blanchard, Dustin Shoaf and wife, Liz, Juhre Enlow and husband, Brady, Marshall Blanchard, William Andrew Haines and wife, Amanda; and great-grandchildren, Dasia, Dylan, Danielle, Riann, Grayson, Liam, Bryson, Griffin, Belle, Elliot, Leah, and Emily; and numerous other family members. 

In Nell’s honor, her family requests that you “pay it forward” and help someone in need.