His Boyhood Home In NJ Became 28-Acre Public Garden: Peter Blanchard Dies At 70

MILLBURN, NJ — Not many people live long enough to see their boyhood home turned into a 28-acre public garden, but Peter Blanchard did.

An author, environmentalist, artist, educator, and philanthropist, Blanchard wanted others to enjoy nature and history as much as he did. He died on Aug. 7 at 70.

Peter P. Blanchard III grew up on the Short Hills estate known as Greenwood Gardens in the 1950s, then opened up the gardens and historic architecture to the public in 2013.

Blanchard, the son of Peter Parrott Blanchard Jr. and Adelaide Childs Frick Blanchard, was born in Manhattan in 1951. The family wanted to have a retreat from city life, so they soon moved to the Short Hills estate that they had bought in 1949.

But Peter's mom died in 1956 when Peter was 5, after a brief illness.

Peter, an only child, looked to nature and history to keep him company, along with the family's many dogs, according to a tribute from Greenwood Gardens.

"His favorite pastime was venturing into the South Mountain Reservation, always accompanied by more than one of the family’s dogs (at one time numbering 20)," said a tribute. "[He was] always on the lookout for Lenape Indians or Revolutionary War troops."

Blanchard went on to become a science teacher, philanthropist, environmentalist, and author of a book on Maine.

"Mr. Blanchard was my first science teacher at Chapin," commented a former student on his obituary. "I was a new student in 1981, and he was warm, humorous, and supportive."

He was a trustee of the Frick Collection, an art collection, and at one time directed the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, according to an obituary in Maine publications. He was serving as the chairman of Greenwood Gardens at the time of his death.

At one point, he and a crew routinely used a wooden lobster boat to take care of several islands in Maine. He published a book about island life, We Were an Island: the Maine Life of Art and Nan Kellam (University Press of New England, 2010).

Blanchard graduated from Princeton University and received master's degrees from the Yale School of Forestry and from Columbia University's Teachers' College.

He and his wife Sofia co-founded Greenwood Gardens in 2003 after his father died, furthering his father's wish that the property be open to the public. The couple spent years fundraising and preparing to open the site.

He was living in Manhattan with his wife, Sofia, and son Theo at the time of his death.

"Peter lived his life with integrity, kindness and purpose," an obituary says. "His humor and irreverence were never far from the surface. His deep passion for nature and all its creatures led him to be a tireless advocate and supporter of land conservation from the coast of Maine to New Jersey and the Caribbean ... He was an elegant writer, a prolific reader, a poetry lover and a landscape painter. He was most at home in the woods."

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Read more about Blanchard and Greenwood Gardens here.