City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Billy Blanchard

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 74.
Died 02/07/2026.

Billy Blanchard
Billy Ray was born March 31, 1952, to Warren and Marie Blanchard. Billy Ray was my uncle, and he was a big kid who liked to have a lot of fun. Uncle Billy had a tough childhood because of his health. He missed a lot of school because he was in the hospital with his asthma issues most of the time. But he learned a lot from his daddy, my papa, and became a very good farmer. He could grow some of the greatest tomatoes and the hottest peppers. He learned how to hunt growing up. He would also fish a lot. He fed the whole family with deer meat, quail, dove, fish, and he even went to Alaska and hunted bears and came home with bear meat from his kill. He really liked and appreciated good food. He would always try new foods too. I think he lived to eat, lol.

Uncle Billy loved all his family and often worked in the background to give his brothers and sisters a good Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. He took up a lot of his time raising his nieces and nephews. He was very proud to be an uncle. I'm his niece and I loved him very much and he was his favorite and his grandnephew Derek was his favorite too. Uncle Billy worked hard to pass on what he had learned to all the children in his family. He loved being a grand uncle too. He was the fun uncle and liked to do fun things with his family, and he loved his friends too. He was very sociable and appreciated good homemade food by someone who loved and cared about him. I can't even tell you how many cookies, cakes, bread puddings and pies I have made for him. He's been to my house many times and ate dinners and thanksgiving meals with us. He was the kind of uncle and friend that made you feel proud of yourself and made you feel loved. A few months ago, he did the right thing and gave his heart to Jesus Christ and was baptized. Our Uncle Billy Ray passed away Feb. 6th from asthma. He was 74 years old.
That's what's so comforting to me and I just want to celebrate that Uncle Billy Ray is saved, safe in heaven with Jesus.

Please celebrate the life he lived and not forget the things he did that were right and good. And remember, Billy Ray still loves us.
We love you, Uncle Billy Ray, forever.

Memorial Service will be at Brooks Ave. Church of Christ, 700 Brooks ave., Raleigh NC 27607

Saturday, February 28th, 2026

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

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Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

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Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

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Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

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Cremation with Private Family Viewing

$1596.75

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.

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Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

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Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

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Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

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Alkaline Hydrolysis

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home offers Alkaline Hydrolysis. The Alkaline Hydrolysis process uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations