Obituary: Blanca Batteau-Fincham of Boston’s Waterfront

BATTEAU-FINCHAM, Blanca Age 91, of Boston, MA, died peacefully, surrounded by her cherished husband, children and grandchildren, on March 17, 2013. She leaves behind her devoted husband Chris Fincham, to whom she was married for almost 39 years. Her first husband, Wayne Batteau, Harvard Professor, died in 1967. Together they had six children: Kim, Robin, David, Lark, Brook, and Yani. Kim and his wife Margreet have four children: Jesseka, Suzy, Lukas, and Saskia. Jesseka and her husband Dos Engelaar have two children: Niek and Kris. Lukas and his wife Ravinia have one son: Noah. They all live in the Netherlands. Robin and his wife Wendy live in Connecticut, and have one son: Robinson. David lives in California and has two children: Yolande in New York, and Christian and his wife Heidi in Arkansas. Lark lives in California. Brook, his wife Katie and their daughter Alouette live in Shelburne Falls, MA. Yani lives in Somerville, MA. Blanca was a remarkable person.

Born in New York City of immigrant parents from Puerto Rico, John and Carmen Matos, she grew up fluent in Spanish, attended City College of New York, and played piano proficiently enough to give a recital at Carnegie Hall. When she married Wayne Batteau they moved to Cambridge, MA. In 1974 she married Chris Fincham, VP of The Norton Company, and originally from England. They moved to Harbor Towers in Boston, where they have lived since.

Besides being a great and much-loved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Blanca was the founder of the Judicial Language Center of the Massachusetts Trial Court. She promoted the arts, and encouraged her children to learn musical instruments and more. Several of them are now professional musicians, dancers and actors as a result. She attended King’s Chapel in Boston, founded the Friendly Living group at Harbor Towers, and was an active member of the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park. She was a real people-person and will be deeply missed by her extensive family and multitude of friends. She lived her dreams and kept her promises. A private funeral service will be held this week, and at a later date a memorial service will be planned.