Vernon J. Bloom

– Vernon J. Bloom, age 87 of Gold Canyon, Arizona went to meet his Lord on February 1, 2023. Vern was born on January 24, 1936 in Williston, North Dakota to John and Susan Bloom. He was Baptized and Confirmed at First Lutheran Church of Williston. As a young boy, he spent his summers at the Bloom & Simpson Family farms doing chores and operating all kinds of tractors and farm equipment. Vern was also very active in Boy Scouts. He graduated from Williston High School and was part of the 1952 State Football Championship - Coyotes team (Hon. Mention – All State) and as a senior the next year was recognized as a Co - Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the team. Vern also was undefeated as a wrestler in his senior year in the Heavyweight Division and won a silver medal at the State track meet throwing the javelin.

From 1955 – 1960, Vern started at Wahpeton Junior College, was inducted into the U.S. Navy and discharged two years later where he returned to finish his college career at North Dakota State University (NDSU) where he earned a Civil Engineering Degree. For the last 60+ years, Vern has enjoyed following the sports teams of NDSU, especially in the last decade when the Bison football team was National Champs nearly every year!

In 1958, Vern married Jan (Langeslag) and enjoyed an amazing 64+ year journey with her as his partner. Over the next few years, they were blessed with two children – Todd and Teri (Bowers). In 1962, Vern and Jan moved to Phoenix, Arizona where Vern’s career really began to take off with the Bureau of Reclamation (the Governmental Agency responsible for the largest water management projects throughout the U.S.). The family spent quite a bit of time with the neighbors, at school/sports events or mostly in the swimming pool escaping the summer heat.

Vern spent 33+ years with the Bureau focused primarily on major construction projects in Arizona (Dams & Water Ways). Over the last 20 years of his career, he was responsible for two exceptionally large projects – the

Central Arizona Project (CAP) and the New Waddell Dam. Each project was approximately 10+ years long with combined costs of more than $2 Billion to complete. The CAP helped bring badly needed Colorado River water to the Phoenix & Tucson areas and allowed for the population explosion seen over the last 40 years. The New Waddell Dam is a critical water storage component of the CAP and has transformed Lake Pleasant into a major recreational lake with tremendous development of communities around the lake.

Vern & Jan enjoyed travelling all over the world – especially their 5 week trip to New Zealand and Australia. Vern loved snow skiing and continued skiing until he was age 82. He really enjoyed skiing with friends in Lake Tahoe, their home in the White Mountains in Northeastern Arizona, and golfing with Jan/his buddies. He often served by helping with maintenance/projects at his church. He loved Jesus and at the end - was ready to be with his Lord.

Vern was predeceased in death by his parents – John & Susan Bloom; Sister - Vivian Jean Bartlett; Niece – Carol Schwartz; & Brothers-in-law – Bob Bartlett & Jim Oelhafen. Vern is survived by his family, Wife – Jan; Son – Todd (Sherri) of Plano, TX; Daughter - Teri (Jay) Bowers of Glendale, AZ; Grandchildren – David Bloom, John Bloom, Josh (Erica) Bowers, Jacob (Gia) Bowers, & Jason Bowers; Sister – Marian Oelhafen of Marshfield, WI; Brother – Marlan (Karen) Bloom of Holden, ME.

A Memorial Service will be held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 5301 S. Kings Ranch Road, Gold Canyon, AZ 85118 – Sunday, February 19 @ 3:30 p.m. The Burial/Honor Ceremony will be held at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, 23209 N Cave Creek Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85024 – Monday, February 20 @ 10:30 a.m.

In Lieu of Flowers, please consider a donation to a Memorial Endowment which Vern established to provide annual scholarship support for students at NDSU or to your favorite charity. Donations can be made via check to North Dakota State University Foundation, P.O. Box 5144, Fargo, ND 58105-5144. Please include a note that the donation is for “The John & Susan Bloom Memorial Endowment Fund 26344 - In Memory of Vernon Bloom”. Donations can be made on-line at NDSUFoundation.com, select Donation Designation – “Other” and list the above Endowment Name/fund #.