Ellen Earnshaw Blandford of Bryantown, MD passed away on November 27, 2010 at the age of 95. She was born on July 28, 1915 in Townsend, MD (now Brandywine, Maryland) and was the daughter of the late Pinkney A. Earnshaw, Sr. and Bertha R. Earnshaw.

She attended Brandywine Elementary School and Brandywine High School where she graduated in 1931. After her graduation she attended Washington School for Secretaries and Temple Business College.

During the depression days, jobs were hard to find, but she worked temporary jobs in the Prince George's County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro. During World War II she worked for the Selective Service and was Chief Clerk of the Local Draft Board No. 3 in Upper Marlboro. After the war, she returned to work in the Office of the County Treasurer in Upper Marlboro. When she retired in 1975, she was Supervisor of Tax Collections for Prince George's County.

When Southern Maryland Hospital opened in November 1977, she applied to serve as a volunteer where she worked in the Medical Records Office for 25 years, retiring in 2002.

She was married for 59 years to the late Thomas Ray Blandford, Sr., (Lt. Retired, Prince George's County Police), who died in 1993. She is survived by her daughter, Mary Ellen Wells and sons, Thomas Ray Blandford, Jr. (Ret. Prince George's County Police) and Dr. William E. Blandford. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Judy Blandford. Her daughter, Betty Ray Graves and her son Jimmy Blandford, predeceased her.

She was also predeceased by her sisters and brothers, Marjorie E. Farrall, Doris E. Simmons, Bertha Russell, Alice Corstaphney, Richard Earnshaw and Pinkney Earnshaw, Jr. as well as her granddaughter, Dawn Underwood and great-grandchildren, Tiffany Wells and Stephen Blandford. She had 13 grandchildren, 31 great grandchildren and 10 great great grandchildren.

The family will receive friends for Ellen's Life Celebration on Thursday, December 2, 2010 from 4-8p.m. at the Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home, P.A., 30195 Three Notch Rd., Charlotte Hall, MD. Prayers will be held at 7:00p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. David Brault on Friday, December 3, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. in the old church at St. Mary's, Piscataway, MD. Interment will be beside her beloved husband in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice of Charles County, P.O. Box 1703, LaPlata, MD.

Pallbearers will be her grandsons; Larry Graves, Greg Wells, Ernie Graves, Billy Wells, Danny Wells, Edward Blandford, Thomas Blandford, Jim Blandford, David Blandford and Donald Wells.

Arrangements provided by Brinsfield-Echols Funeral Home, P.A.