The Unyielding Passion for Life of Lee Raymond Blanchette, a Remarkable Man

Lee Raymond Blanchette had ambitions to be the first above-the-knee amputee to kayak the Mississippi River from its headwaters in Minnesota to its destination in New Orleans. Other things on his Bucket List were to swim with the dolphin, Winter, who has a prosthetic tail, and to work in the Antarctic in honor of Shackleton, Perry and North.

Lee was a talented carpenter and artist, and loved to be outdoors in the winter, shoveling snow for friends and neighbors. He was a volunteer Emergency ...