South Portland –  Ronald  F. Blanchard was born on April 19, 1940,  the son of Frederick and Rachel Blanchard.  He lived at 2066 Broadway in South Portland until he passed on July 16, 2023.  He was 83 years young.  He always said, "I was born at 2066 and I will die at 2066".

Ronald was an awesome man and an incredibly visionary businessman.  He started in the Body Shop business when he was 14 years old.  He borrowed $2.35 from his dad for some tape, paper and paint and from there his career started.  He spent 6 years in the Coast Guard and in his off-time he created Broadway Auto Body.  What started out in his dad's small, 2-card garage, over the years grew into 20,000 sq. ft.  He also created Crown Paint and Supply.  After all, why shouldn't he have a business designed to support his Body Shop?  He went on to create Royal Oil Company as well as Ardvark Rent-A-Heap.  Ron was always looking for a plan to put into action.  When he got out of these businesses, he decided to move into the world of self-storage facilities.  He started Broadway Self-Storage in 2002.  He then set his sights on a facility in Scarborough, ME.  Running Hill Self-Storage was created in 2009 as Phase I and then expanded to Phase II in 2017.  Before his death, he had planned a Phase III.  He was the general contractor for other self-storage facility owners and those new businesses were assured that he could directs their builds and be successful.  His wife, Linda, always called him "Bob the Builder", as he was most happy when designing and building.

Ron loved Harley's.  He custom built one of his Harley's using old Packard taillights.  Linda and he spent many miles on that bike.  Over time, he acquired 5 more Harley's and had a couple more that he planned to restore.  His wife, Linda says there would be so, so many more pages if she could only cover everything she wanted to say about her love, Ronald, that she so greatly misses.

Ron's daughter's have added their own thoughts and feelings about their dad:

Ronald was always there for his daughters, from teaching them to learn to drive at a very young age, to helping them establish homes of their own when they got older.  He was the Father you could call any day or night and he would be there with a helping hand.  He was always there for them through their ups and downs and taught them to enjoy every moment life has to offer.  He was incredibly practical and creative, and his daughters are so lucky that he passed on so much of his knowledge and skills to them.  Nobody can be perfect, but he was as close to being the most perfect Dad anyone could have.  On his final day, he was surrounded by his wife and daughters who adored him more than anything else in this world.

Ron is survived by his wife, Linda (Beck) Blanchard; his daughters Ronna Rae Blanchard and fiancé Jeff LaFratta of Bow, NH and Sharissa Samara Blanchard of Hiram, ME;  step-son Brian Jensen and his wife, Lindsey; grandchildren Rachel and Raymond  and step-grandson Liam Jensen along with many extended family and friends.

Visitation will be held on Friday, July 21, 2023 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland.  A Celebration of Life will be held at the funeral home at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2023 followed by burial at Highland Memorial Cemetery.  A reception will take place at the Elizabeth Hobbs Hospitality Center after the burial.