Obituary of Deborah "Debbie" Blanchard

Mrs. Deborah Marcum Blanchard, age 70, a resident of Dothan, died Friday, June 21, 2024, at her home following an extended illness. A memorial service for Mrs. Blanchard will be held 2:00 P.M. Friday, June 28, 2024, at the Ozark Church of Christ on Roy Parker Road with Dr. Leon Estep officiating. The family will receive friends Friday in the church from 1:00 P.M. until service time. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ozark Church of Christ, P. O. Box 1127, Ozark, Alabama 36361. Debbie was born January 1, 1954, at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, to the late Ernest Aldridge and Betty Lou Campbell Marcum. Debbie graduated from Carroll High School in 1972. She graduated from Auburn University in 1976 with a math degree. At Auburn Debbie was a Kappa Kappa Gamma. After teaching school in Rome, Georgia and Dekalb County, Georgia. Debbie married James Eugene Blanchard on March 25, 1978. Debbie taught high school math in Lawrenceville, Georgia and Carroll High School in Ozark until 1989. She went to work for the United States Army as an Operation Research Analyst at Ft. Rucker. Debbie worked in the Directorate of Resource Management from 1989-1998 and worked one year at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery. She worked at the Directorate of Simulation from 1999-2020. Debbie was the Chief of Simulation Development and Accreditation Division for seventeen years. Mrs. Blanchard was a faithful member of the Ozark Church of Christ since 1964. She served as a Bible school teacher for many years. Mrs. Blanchard was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and sister. She is survived by her husband of 46 years, James Blanchard; two daughters: Jamie (Burt) Ahlzadeh of Auburn, Abby (Justin) Fetsko of Dothan; six grandchildren: Moe Forbes, Emily Fetsko, Houston Fetsko, Naomi Ahlzadeh, Ilana Ahlzadeh, and Jordi Ahlzadeh; two brothers: Perry Marcum of Ozark, David (Debbie) Marcum of Andalusia. Debbie is greatly loved by all her family and friends, and we praise God for giving her to us. We will see her again one day. The family is grateful for the kind, professional care of DaySpring Hospice.