Blanche Pollei

Blanche M. Pollei, age 89, of Mankato, died Wednesday, February 7, 2007 at Hillcrest Health Care Center.

Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, February 10, 2007 at Mankato Mortuary Chapel with Rev. John Bennett officiating. Burial will be in Pilgrims Rest Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. (TODAY) Friday at Mankato Mortuary and will continue one hour before service on Saturday.

Blanche was born October 9, 1917 to George and Myrtle (VanSickle) Andreasen in Garden City. As a child she moved to Mankato and graduated from Mankato High School in 1935 and then attended Mankato Commercial College. On October 3, 1936 she married John L. Pollei in Mankato. They lived for a few years in St. Paul and moved to Garden City in 1949. John died in 1965 and Blanche moved to Mankato in 2000. Blanche had been employed at many types of jobs, including machine work on airplanes during WWII, waitress, seamstress, lunchroom employee at Garden City School, quality checker at Automatic Electric (Midtex) in Mankato, and a Mankato Post Office employee before her retirement. She enjoyed to travel, dancing, gardening, playing cards, crochet, and crossword puzzles.

Blanche is survived by her daughter, Joan Dawley of Mankato; daughter-in-law, Judy Pollei of Mapleton; four grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; nine great-great-grandchildren; sister, Alice (Norman) Walters of Torrance, CA; sisters-in-law, Marion Pollei of Mankato, Evelyn Andreasen of LaMesa, CA; several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Blanche was preceded in death by her parents; husband, John; two sons, John H. Jack in 1964 and Donald in 1995; sister, Iva; two brothers, Albin and Leo; a granddaughter; and an infant great-grandson.