Gabriel Blanco

Gabriel Blanco passed away on October 26, 2024. He was predeceased by his wife of 54 years, Peggy Blanco. He is survived by his children and their spouses Christina Blanco and Steven Rickards, and Theresa Blanco and Glenn Pritchard. He had five grandchildren and their partners: Clara Ottey and Riley Zapfel; Luke Ottey; Matthew Rickards and Kaitlyn Blankenhorn; Caroline Pritchard and Kenneth Chaney II, and Jonathan Pritchard and Lauren Ford. Gabe’s dog Lucy is heartbroken, too.

 Gabe was born in Havana, Cuba and emigrated to the U.S. when he was 14 years old. When he left, he didn’t know if he would ever see his family again. They were all eventually reunited in Penns Park, of all places, where the family lived until they moved to Doylestown where Gabe attended what was then the only Central Bucks High School. It was here that he met Peggy, who threw him out of the language lab more than once. He eventually was allowed to stay and they were inseparable from that point on. 

 For 47 years, Gabe taught high school Spanish. Along the way, he also taught college Spanish and Latin American History and earned his hypnotherapist certification. This was helpful, because he worked three jobs to put his daughters through college. Known simply as “Señor”, he taught thousands of students. Some of the luckier ones got to go on one of his famous trips to places like Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Spain. There were several takeaways from these trips: don’t drink alcohol at 5,000 feet of altitude in Mexico City; don’t buy guinea hens in Costa Rica without a plan; the word for grasshopper hill in Nahuatl is Chapultepec. It was a rare outing if no one shouted “Señor” across the room, or from across the street.

 Gabe loved puzzles. There was never a time when a jigsaw puzzle wasn’t on the table in the family room. Edges first, then by color. There was a protocol. If you could get him on your trivial pursuit team and land on enough geography questions, it was a slam dunk. He loved to cook, especially for his family and particularly for his grandchildren. His bread pudding and picadillo were legendary. There were a lot of honorary Cubans at the house when black beans and rice and breaded steak were on the menu. Gabe’s greenhouse was a showcase of plants from all over the world, including a bouganvilla that he grew from a tiny cutting which is now 40 years old. He had concoctions and potions for every kind of plant imaginable, and he could bring the sickest plant back to full bloom. The man could coax orchids to bloom repeatedly. 

 Most of all, Gabe was kind and generous. He made sure that his extended family had enough to eat and supported them. He always believed that if you had the ability to help, that you were obligated to help. It was never someone else’s problem. He would want everyone to remember that.

 In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Peggy Blanco Student Support Grant Fund at VITA Education Services, 8 East Court St, Doylestown PA 18901, or use this link: www.vitaeducation.org and click on the “Please Donate Today” button on the left next to Peggy’s picture. Choose the Student Support Grant Fund. 

 A memorial gathering will be held on November 9th at 11 AM at Reed & Steinbach Funeral Home, 2335 Lower State Road, Doylestown PA 18901.