Blanche Wodka Alexander

Blanche Wodka Alexander RN, BSN, MSN, of Gorham, Maine made the decision to stay in the comfort of her home to leave this life on September 4 , 2023 surrounded by family and compassionate Northern Light Hospice Nurses. She was born in Montville, Connecticut on August 13, 1931, the daughter of Polish immigrants Kamilla Brokowski and Walter Stanley Wodka. She is survived by husband of 65 years, David R. Alexander, daughter Anne Alexander (Julio Reynoso) of Windham, son Ross Alexander (Penny Alexander), Fort Collins, CO, grandchildren, Rafael Reynoso (Moises de Moya), Stuttgart, Germany, Kenna, Eve, Ila, and great-granddaughter Eden in Colorado. Blanche was proud that her granddaughter Eve followed in her footsteps to become an RN, and was able to provide supplemental care in her final days. Preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Helen Hall, Henrietta Pearl and her three brothers, John, Henry and Edward. Graduating from Norwich Free Academy, Connecticut in 1948, she received her RN in 1951 from New England Hospital for Women and Children, Boston, Massachusetts. Her specialty after graduation was Labor and Delivery. In 1953 she joined the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps serving stateside during the Korean War. Blanche came to Maine to care for her mother and worked as a floor nurse at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta where she also met David. She retired from nursing until the children were in school, then began a career in school nursing in New Jersey and Ohio where she helped form the Ohio Association of School Nurses. Serving as Secretary she wrote to the Governor and created School Nurse Day. She was also instrumental in legislature that degreed School Nurses would be paid on the same scale as teachers. While in New Jersey Blanche earned her BSN from Fairleigh Dickinson University. When David’s business was relocated to Wisconsin she established, in cooperation with the American Heart Association, a blood pressure program for the Waupaca County Health Services. Moving to Maine she became Assistant Professor in the Nursing Department at St. Joseph’s College, required to obtain a Masters in Nursing from University of Southern Maine. At St. Joseph’s, she taught community health nursing, classroom and practicum. Her Master’s thesis presentation on the prevention of osteoporosis was shown to women’s groups in Maine. She was a member of the American Nurses Association for her entire career. She represented Maine nurses four times at their National Convention, serving on committees and boards for her nurse associations. Her State of Maine Registered Professional Nurse license, first issued in 1982, recently expired on her birthday, August 13, 2022. Over the years she was: Girl Scout leader, PTA officer, homeroom mother, giving sugar cubes with the early polio vaccines, assisted with flu, school hearing and vision clinics. She served on the Gorham Zoning Board of Appeals and as president of the Gorham Health Council for. Her first love was her family, with a close second love of nursing. Blanche was a strong feminist who believed in equal rights for women everywhere. Her big disappointment was the failure to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. At age eighty Blanche co-founded the Lakes Region Senior Center serving as President for 10 years. She always spoke of it as a Labor of Love that gave her a strong purpose in life during her retirement years. Blanche’s friends, neighbors, and LRSC members are invited to share memories at White Rock Community Club, 34 Wilson Road, Gorham, Saturday September 9, 2 to 4 pm. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to the following: Lakes Region Senior Center, 40 Acorn Street, Gorham, ME 04038; ANA- Maine Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 647, Kennebunk, ME 04043; GRRR - Grandmothers for Reproductive

Blanche Wodka Alexander

August 13, 1931 - September 4, 2023

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