Colonel John David Bloom

Colonel (Retired) John David Bloom, 80, Lenexa, departed this life on Monday, October 9, 2017, at Olathe Health Hospice House.  John was born February 7, 1937, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Colonel Bloom is survived by his wife, Marci, six children and spouses; Terri Guthrie (George), John Bloom Jr. (Susan), Michael Bloom (Melissa), Rick Bloom (Melissa), Mindy Schwartzkopf (Jeff), and Erin Dorrel (Adam).  He also leaves behind a large family of sixteen grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

John grew up in Marion, Indiana where he graduated high school.  He obtained his Undergraduate Degree from Indiana University and Masters Degree from the University of Alabama.  Colonel Bloom was a decorated veteran of the U.S. Army with 28 years of service having assignments in the U.S. and overseas including a tour in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  Entering active duty in 1959 he completed Air Defense Artillery Training at Fort Bliss Texas and served two years with a Nike Hercules Missile Battalion near Detroit, Michigan where his first child (Terri) was born in 1961.  He commanded a Nike Hercules Air Defense Battery in Chicago, Illinois where his second child (John Jr.) was born in 1964.   Bloom then completed a tour of duty as an officer in an Artillery Group near Athens, Greece, where his third child (Michael) was born in 1965.  John attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth where his fourth child (Rick) was born in 1969.  He worked in the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs at the Pentagon from 1971-1974.  Colonel Bloom did a tour in Europe as a Special Assistant for Media Relations to the Supreme Allied Commander of Europe (General Alexander Haig) at SHAPE, Belgium.  Returning to the States in 1980 he had a tour back at Fort Leavenworth as the Editor-in-Chief of the Military Review magazine, the professional journal of the U.S. Army.  His last active tour was at Fort Sheridan, Illinois in 1984 as the Chief of Public Affairs.  He retired from the Army in 1987 as a Colonel and resided in Leavenworth, Kansas, with his wife, Judy Bloom, to whom he was married from 1958 until her death in 1996.

John married Marci J. Bast in 1997, and they have been residents of Lenexa, Kansas, for the past 20 years.  After retirement from the military, John worked as the Executive Director of the United Way-Leavenworth County (1987-1992) and also as Executive Director of Cosmopolitan International Service Club (1992-2003).  Cosmopolitan is a fund raising organization for diabetes research and is one of the memorials setup in John's name.  Following John's second retirement in 2003, he and Marci have spent winters in South Texas and summers in Lenexa.  John and Marci's six children are all married and have children of their own.  The family gets together on a regular basis for birthdays, sporting events, or any other excuse to be together.  John loved watching all sports and especially the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs, Kansas State University and Northwest Missouri State University football teams.  He also enjoyed being around people and enjoying a couple of glasses of wine visiting either at a restaurant or an impromptu driveway party.  John and Marci have enjoyed watching their family legacy grow and John will be severely missed by his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and friends.

Services will be held this Friday, October 13, 2017, at Amos Funeral Home, 10901 Johnson Dr, Shawnee, KS  66203.  Visitation will be from 9:30AM-10:30AM with the main services starting at 10:30AM.  John's final resting place will be at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery with full military honor.

In place of flowers, please contact the funeral home and consider donating to John's memorial funds:

Cosmopolitan International

PO Box 7351

Lancaster, PA 17604

or

Olathe Health Hospice House

15310 S. Marion

Olathe, KS 66061

or

St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital

262 Danny Thomas Pl.

Memphis, TN 38105