BJ Blanchard

BJ Blanchard, 80, of Hampton, Virginia, passed away peacefully at home on June 22, 2026.

Born Betty Jo Dixon on February 13, 1946, in Louisville, KY, she graduated from Waggener High School in 1964, where she formed friendships that lasted the rest of her life. She continued her education at the University of Kentucky, graduating in 1968. After graduation, she traveled to Europe with her best friend since the second grade, Myrta Holt of Spartanburg, SC, before moving to Atlanta, GA, together. Myrta remained a loyal and loving friend until the end.

BJ eventually moved to Hampton, VA, and began her career as a middle school educator. She taught eighth grade English at Queens Lake Middle School in Williamsburg, VA, for more than two decades, where she was a dedicated and respected faculty member. She was passionate about, and proud of, her contributions outside the classroom, including her leadership of the school’s Odyssey of the Mind team, which she led to World Finals. She was also a huge fan of musical theater and worked on the school’s annual musical. During her time at Queens Lake, she formed connections with students and their families that lasted long after her teaching career ended. Hampton is also where BJ became a mother to Taylor, to whom she was always a dedicated, loving, and proud mom.

Her teaching career came to an end in 1994 after she suffered a brain aneurysm followed by a stroke.

BJ did not let the physical effects of her stroke impact her love for life, family, and friends. While her ability to communicate was dramatically diminished, BJ still had an incredible ability to connect with people, making an impression on everyone she met. 

She always remained Kentucky through and through - an ardent fan of the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, a dedicated annual viewer of the Kentucky derby (always donning a derby hat of course), and a loyalist to the state’s famous spirit.

BJ loved music, her favorite artist being Jimmy Buffet, and like any loyal parrothead, she made sure to attend a few of his concerts in her prime. She traveled to New York and DC to see her favorite musicals, and she was also a lifelong cinephile who loved to see movies in the theater, especially period pieces - bonus points for adaptations of Shakespeare and Jane Austen (the inner English teacher always present).

She moved into Commonwealth Senior Living at the Devonshire approximately 15 years ago, where she was beloved by staff and residents alike, and where she met her partner of the last 9 years, Frank Steinbach, with whom she shared many laughs and a deep bond over the years.

BJ will be most remembered for her magnetic personality, sense of humor, impeccable taste, strength, courage, and the love she put out into the world. 

She is survived by her daughter Taylor Blanchard, son-in-law Marc Atwood, partner Frank Steinbach, brother Andrew Dixon, nephews Jason, Powell, and Kevin Dixon, guardian Robert Pollard, and the countless friends she made along the way.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, July 2, at 10:00 AM at St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Hampton, VA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Stroke Foundation.

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