Hall of Fame
Lewis Bloom
2012 Inductee Federation of Northwest Dahlia Growers Hall of Fame
Lewie began growing dahlias in 1966 in his home garden in Olympia. Four years later he retired, and dahlias became his whole life, so to speak. A friend invited him to attend a meeting in Tacoma and he eventually became the President of the WSDS. Later he co-founded the Evergreen Dahlia Society in the Olympia area.
Lewie was well known for his new ideas. He became the Innovation Chairman, and he was instrumental in creating the Federation Dahlia Annual. He was also very involved with the formation of the Federation and was a founding member. Lewie exhibited dahlias until he could no longer attend shows. Many years he attended 10 shows in one season. Lewie always wanted to show others how very easy dahlias are to grow. He maintained that if you could grow potatoes, you could easily grow dahlias. He even wrote a manual on how to grow and show dahlias.
Over the years Lewie began to take seed and introduced many cultivars. His last variety was introduced in 2001 and was called Bloom’s Last Harrah.
We believe that Lewis G. Bloom is an outstanding nominee for the Hall of Fame and that this list would simply not be complete without his name. Washington State Dahlia Society is proud to nominate Lewie Bloom for the Federation Hall of Fame.
Lewis Bloom Obituary
Published by The Olympian on Jun. 15, 2005
Lewis was born January 9, 1912, to Lester and Mary (Foster) Bloom near Oneida, South Dakota. They were farmers and the children attended country schools until they moved to Pierre. Lewis was the first of his family to attend college, graduating in 1936 from Huron University, working his way through school, and starting his career of teaching and coaching at Vienna and Britton, South Dakota. He enjoyed teaching and was a very successful coach and a good influence on the boys and girls. These students all asked him to come back for their classes’ fiftieth reunions, and still called him “Coach Bloom” when they were grandparents themselves. Marnie Noel graduated from Huron in 1937, and they were married in ’38. They lived in Britton and Yankton, South Dakota, and then in Rosalia, Washington, where Lewie was Principal. They moved to Endicott, where he was Superintendent for five years, and then to Palouse, where he was Superintendent for eight years, before moving to Kennewick, where he served as junior high counsellor. Again his ability to relate to young people and help them with their problems made a difference in their attitude toward school and the kids had him change his sign from “Boys Counselor” to “Counselor” so everyone could go to him. His organizational ability was appreciated by the teachers and they elected him to the Washington State Board of Directors of the NEA. In 1961 he was called to Olympia by the Washington Superintendent of Schools to head up the new Gifted Child Program, and later to be in charge of state-wide school bus transportation.
He authored several manuals related to his work; the last one on how to grow and show dahlias, which became his principle avocation for more than 30 years. It lead him and his wife to travel all over the world. He originated more than 25 new dahlias that were recognized in the national registry as being prize winners, including one that was named Centennial, the top scoring flower in the USA in 1989. His other interests included playing cards, especially Bridge; politics and history; and all sports. He ran hundreds of miles, 550 of them on the balcony track at the YMCA that he talked them into building. Besides his beloved wife Marnie, he is survived by three daughters, Dr. Camilla Ashley, Oak Park, Illinois; Sylvia Hunley, Deer Park, Wash.; and Valerie Hervey, Corvallis, Oregon; five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; three sisters; and four brothers. At Lewie’s request, there will be no funeral, only a small private gathering when his ashes are scattered in a favorite, peaceful spot.