BLANCHE LANE TOMPKINS
July 6, 1923 - April 30, 2013
When
you come late into a person’s life, you rarely have much of an idea about his
or her background. I met Blanche in
2000, when I retired at 65, moved from Orange County and joined the San Bernardino Genealogical Society, of
which she was a long-time member. I came to know her as a friend and mentor who was knowledgeable about everything San Bernardino-ish,
having lived there as an adult for about 50 years.
She
died in 2013, and it was in her Obituary I learned about her “other” (than
genealogy) life. She was born in New
Mexico, and at the age of 4 contracted polio, which left her crippled in spite
of many treatments, surgeries and exercises.
She spent her life in braces and crutches, but that didn’t stop her from
becoming salutatorian at her high school and then graduating from University of New Mexico
with a BS in Biology. In 1948 she passed
the California State Board Exam for Clinical Medical Technologist and
subsequently the exam for Microbiologist.
Her first job, which she held for 10 years, was at the San Bernardino
County Hospital, and then she spent another ten years as a microbiologist at Saint
Bernadine’s Hospital, also in that city.
During
this period of time she married Albert Elwood Tompkins and they added two sons to the family, Walter and William. Albert had served in the US
Army during WWII, landing in Normandy on Utah Beach in September of 1944. He proceeded through France and Belgium and
into Germany, meeting the Russians in Berlin.
In San Bernardino, Blanche was active in the Presbyterian Church, serving
as a Deacon, member of the Session, Moderator of Circle of Hope and
Presbyterian Women. And she was the one
who invited me to a most interesting "Kirkin' O' The Tartans" service, after she learned that my distant ancestor in
1804 was ordained a Presbyterian
minister.
Blanche was a lovely woman, warm, helpful, and smart. She knew every square inch of the California Room at the San Bernardino Library. I was lucky to spend five years of working with her as a volunteer; I did not know her background then, as she didn't spend any time talking about herself. She was there to help others.
I am glad I was counted as a friend and she certainly fits well in "Immortal Nobodies." I surely won't forget her.
Blanche was a lovely woman, warm, helpful, and smart. She knew every square inch of the California Room at the San Bernardino Library. I was lucky to spend five years of working with her as a volunteer; I did not know her background then, as she didn't spend any time talking about herself. She was there to help others.
I am glad I was counted as a friend and she certainly fits well in "Immortal Nobodies." I surely won't forget her.
