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Blanche Amberg Fitzpatrick, lifelong human rights activist and peace advocate, died in her home Sunday. Blanche was raised in Detroit where her father was a surgeon and her mothers family owned a corset factory and department store. She first came to New Mexico to see her father's birthplace, his fathers trading post on the Santa Fe Plaza. Blanche moved to Albuquerque in 1952 with her second husband, the late William G. Fitzpatrick, who became locally prominent as dynamic leader of the advocacy-based Legal Aid Society in the late 1960s. Blanche received B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1936, a Masters in Social Work from Wayne State University in 1945, and a J.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Law 1953, where she was one of the first female graduates. Blanche worked as a Social Worker the Detroit Children' s Court. In Albuquerque she co-founded the Center For Peace and Justice, and received it's Peace Award in 1986. She was a national ACLU Board Member for many years, and received the ACLU Outstanding Civil Libertarian Award in 1990. Blanche lobbied hard for the New Mexico Children's Code. After becoming visually impaired, she volunteered doing laundry at St. Martins Shelter . Blanche loved nature and cherished memories of animals and wilderness, hiking, riding horseback, and kayaking. She is survived by her son, Tom; daughter-in-law, Anne; grandchildren, Max and Laura; nieces, nephews, and many, many dear friends. In 1972 Blanche moved to La Luz to play tennis. A memorial will be on the lawn under the cottonwood, next to the tennis courts at La Luz, on Saturday, March 22, 2003 at 12:00 noon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests prayers for peace in honor of Blanche. Arrangements by Direct.
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