Doris Kluttz Blanchard, 96, died Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Born in Salisbury, NC, she lived in Hampton for the last 75 years. Doris graduated from Catawba College in 1949 with a double major degree in Mathematics and foreign languages.  After college she moved to Hampton to join NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) as a Human Computer.  As NACA transitioned to NASA, Doris was promoted to Head Computer with the Supersonic Pressure Tunnel where Mary Jackson joined as NASA's first black female engineer.  After retiring in 1983, Doris continued her love of travel with family, friends and Earthwatch, an international environmental nonprofit.  Over her lifetime, she visited and immersed herself in the cultures of 6 continents and 37 countries.

Doris was the inaugural recipient of the "Reaching for the Stars" award from the FIRST Chesapeake Women in STEM in 2019.  She was also honored by her neighbors with "Doris Blanchard Day" in Grandview Shores.  NASA will be flying a flag in her honor and recognizing her lifetime contributions.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur Berry Kluttz and Mary Cook Kluttz, her husband, Willard Slade Blanchard, Jr., a brother, Warren Kluttz, and a sister, Carol Dunnagan; survivors include her daughter, Tracy Noell (Buzz); her son, Slade Blanchard (Georgianna); and her granddaughter, Kelsey Noell.