Mary Blanton was the late wife of George Blanton. She and her husband retired to a farm Grantville years before the Ring of Fire. Not long after they retired, their son Dave divorced his wife and moved onto the farm with them. Some years before the Ring of Fire, Mary's health began to deteriorate. She refused to go to a doctor, chalking her poor health up to her misspent youth catching up to her. Three months later, she died of cancer. Her death negatively impacted Dave, who became a survivalist, and subsequently died in an auto accident. The loss of Mary and Dave led George into a deep depression.