Joan Bloom was raised on a farm and that's what she said contributed to her 93 years of healthy living.
Or she might have thought she lived that long because her strong leftist politics kept her alive to see Barack Obama become our president or perhaps she made it to 93 because while going to Catholic boarding school she thought she might become a nun.
But luckily for us, she met David Rowland while she was attending the University of Minnesota. They fell in love and had 4 children.
Jo, as she was called then, was a Girl Scout leader at Lincoln Elementary in Boulder and a president of the Jaycee Jems, (a service group of the Chamber of Commerce.) She even danced the cancan with her Jems at dinner fundraisers for the Chamber up on Flagstaff. Jo was also involved with social justice issues and was an active member of the Unitarian Church. She worked with the Democratic party and was a precinct chair woman. She was a proud champion for equal rights and her braver y took her to Selma, Alabama with a group from Boulder that marched to Montgomery with Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Furthermore, Jo inspired her children to become social activists themselves.
Jo became Joanie Bloom when she met the love of her life, Bernie Bloom. She went to a concert at the Unitarian Church - where he was playing his hand-built harpsichord and it was the beginning of a long, happy life together.
Together they created a family with seven children as both of them folded the kids into a cohesive family unit.
Joanie returned to school and got her undergraduate degree in History at CU where she got better grades than her daughters. She went on to complete her MSW at DU, graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and worked for Boulder Valley Schools as a social worker. Joanie lent an ear to many, using her gifts of listening, humor and compassion to help others.
Joanie or Omi was a special grandmother - teaching about birds (and especially hummingbirds), nature, squirrels, and how to cook rum cake (with a lot of rum.) She loved the Colorado Rockies!
Her purple shoes and Rockies T-shirt were her favorite outfit.
Joan was a wicked Scrabble player, a life-long birder, a bonsai and gardener extraordinaire. She loved taking photos and collecting mushrooms, rocks and lost souls.
She had a heart as large as the Rocky Mountains which she adored.
Her children are Jaye Rowland Zola, Tracy Rowland, Peter Rowland and Melissa Rowland, Claire Bloom, Davida Bloom and Paula Bloom (deceased.) She has 12 grandchildren and three great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.
A Celebration of Life for Joan will be on June 26, 2024 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder at 5001 Pennsylvania Ave in Boulder, Colorado from 4:00-5:30. We will also share some thoughts for Bernie Bloom who passed away in 2020 as we were unable to have a celebration for him.