WATERVILLE -- A very special spirit, Blanche (Fleury) Luckraft, left this life at 5:45 Saturday evening, Feb. 19, 2005, in Waterville.Blanche, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, woman and friend, departed this world in a most peaceful manner, while talking with her husband of nearly 58 years, Henry, who was also her very best friend, in the home she so dearly loved.Blanche was a phenomenal individual -- a zesty and loving soul who saw the best in all. She was gentle and tough, serious and silly, and lived fully to the very moment of her death. Blanche was admired by many and was a wonderful role model to her children and grandchildren, who will miss her spunk and her smile.Born on July 10, 1926, in New Bedford, Mass., Blanche was married to Henry S. Luckraft in St. Anthony's Church in New Bedford in 1947, and moved to Waterville in 1965 with her husband and three daughters.She was a longtime, active and devoted member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. In 1963, Blanche was diagnosed as having a rare disease of the central nervous system, syringomyelia. She became a charter member of ASAP (American Syringomyelia Alliance Project), and her involvement and dedication to the organization became a defining force in her life. By sharing her experience with this crippling disease, she provided a wonderful living resource and role model for hundreds of other people. She was instrumental in helping to achieve the organization's goals of education, research, and helping to improve the lives of those with this and related diseases. There was always a friendly and comforting voice on the end of the phone for those newly diagnosed patients who called her to seek her advice and support.Despite the challenges of her disease, Blanche was an active wife and mother, with masterful skills in needlework and other handcrafts. She loved to travel with her husband and friends, and never looked back on her life with anything but gratitude for all of her blessings.Blanche is survived by her husband, Henry S. Luckraft; and three daughters, Marilyn Gundy and her husband, Greg, Julie Luckraft and her husband, Jay Pennys, and Elizabeth "Betty" Luckraft and her husband, David Hodgdon. She also leaves behind her three loving grandchildren, Richard Chasse III and Benjamin and Katherine Hodgdon; as well as several nieces and nephews. Blanche is also survived by two sisters, Rita Nolan and her husband, George, and Betha Cormier and her husband, Leo.A very special thank-you to the wonderful women who cared for Blanche so lovingly and capably, around the clock, enabling her to stay in her home with her husband, where she wanted so much to remain.A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at noon Saturday, Feb. 26, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 70 Pleasant St., Waterville.In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory would be greatly appreciated and can be made to: Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area, 304 Main St., Waterville, ME 04901; or to: ASAP Inc., P.O. Box 1586, Longview, TX 75606-1586.Arrangements were made with Gallant Funeral Home, 10 Elm St., Waterville. Condolences may be expressed at http://www.gallantfh.com.