Lorene Blanck, 88, of Southgate, formerly of Bronson, passed away on Saturday, December 31, 2011 in Southgate.
A funeral will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at the Batavia Free Will Baptist Church with Pastor Philip Lindner officiating. Interment will follow at Batavia Township Cemetery, next door to the church on Batavia Road. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, January 4, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Dutcher-Kolcz Funeral Home in Bronson.
Lorene was born on February 28, 1923 in Candiz, Kentucky to Delphus and Stella (Bruce) Coyle. She move to Battle Creek at age one and graduated from Battle Creek Central High School in 1940. She worked at the B.C. Sanitarium, the high school as a secretary, and the in the accounting department at Post Cereal before moving to Assyia. While in Assyria, she and her sister, Louise, helped form the Maple Grove Bible Church. It was there that she met Richard L. Blanck, who she married on December 14, 1946. He passed away on December 2, 1987, just 12 days before their 41st anniversary.
The couple moved back to Battle Creek and attended the Gospel Center Church for a few years. In 1949, Dick and Lorene bought a farm on Parham Road in Bronson where they began farming and started a family. Lorene served as a 4-H leader for several years and helped on the family farm. She later went back to school to become a Licensed Practical Nurse in 1965. She worked at the Coldwater Hospital for 7 years and then took care of her grandchildren for 12 years.
Lorene is survived by her children Victoria (Lee) Wesson of Houston, TX, Michael Blanck of Orange, TX and Becky (Douglas) Woodring of Trenton, her sister Louise (Richard) Pierce of Battle Creek, her brother-in-law Robert Saunders of Vermontville, 5 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren.
In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter Candace, her granddaughter Michelle O’Rourke, her sister Maree Purtell and her brother Darce Coyle.
Memorial contributions may be directed to Batavia Free Will Baptist Church.