Alan Bloom, MD (Family Practice Residency Program ’89), died Thursday, June 11, 2009, at Sanford Hospital in Webster, S. Dak. His funeral was on June 16 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Webster. He was buried at the Webster Cemetery with military rites.
Alan Ray Bloom was born Thursday, April 6, 1950, to Fred “Pete” and Geraldine (Pies) Bloom in Webster. He was baptized and confirmed at American Lutheran Church in Webster. The family lived on a farm south of Webster in Wheatland Township, Day County, where he attended country school through the fifth grade and then transferred into Webster, where he graduated from high school in 1968. He attended South Dakota State University in Brookings from 1968 to 1972, where he was involved with ROTC and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry. On September 11, 1971, he married Sylvia Knapp in Waubay. From 1973 to 1978, he served active duty as a pilot with the U.S. Air Force as a Commissioned Officer. He received his pilot training in Big Spring, Texas, and in 1974, he received his B-52 training at Merced Air Force Base in California. In 1977, he attended Squadron Officer School in Montgomery, Ala. He was stationed at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Michigan from 1974 to 1978. While in Michigan, he received his Master of Arts in Public Administration in 1976. The couple moved to Vermillion, S. Dak., where he received a Master of Science in Biology in 1980, and he graduated from the University of South Dakota Medical School in 1985.
He was an aircraft maintenance officer and squadron commander with the Iowa Air National Guard in Sioux City from 1980 to 1988. He completed his Family Practice Residency in 1988 through the University of North Dakota. The family then moved to his native Webster, S. Dak., where he began his medical practice at the Day County Medical Center, which continued until the present. He received a fellowship with the American Academy of Family Physicians in 1991. He served with the S. Dak. Air National Guard in Sioux Falls from 1988 until 1994 as clinic commander and state air surgeon. On June 13, 1992, he was united in marriage to Rita (Nielsen) Grupe at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Webster. The couple resided in Webster. He retired in 1994 as a lieutenant colonel with more than 20 years of military service.
Dr. Bloom was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Webster. He also was an avid hunter and a member of many wildlife organizations, including the Isaak Walton League. As a young man, he was active in 4-H, an accomplished pianist, and church organist for the American Lutheran Church. He was a life member of Herbert McKennett Post 40 American Legion.
Survivors include his wife, Rita, of Webster; one son, Alan Grayson (Michelle) Bloom of Laurel, Md.; two daughters: Alla (David) Bartell of Fargo, N. Dak., and Allegra (Clint) Duerre of Bristol, S. Dak.; two stepsons: Ross Grupe of Webster, S. Dak., and Ben (Natasha) Grupe of Rapid City, S. Dak.; one stepdaughter, Elizabeth (Dan) Basye of Watertown, S. Dak.; four grandchildren: Soren and Claire Bartell and Georgia and Max Duerre; and five stepgrandchildren: Abbie and Kiera Grupe and Tyler, Rianne and Dane Basye. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Gaye.
