Lawrence Stanley Bloom's Obituary
Lawrence (Larry) Bloom, born May 24, 1939, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday January 27, 2023. Larry is survived by his wife of 62 years, MaryAnn Veeneman Bloom and his sons, Larry, David, Andy and Greg (deceased). Larry is the proud grandfather of Lauren, Matthew, Sidney and Tyler and Great Grandfather of Emerson, Lilianna and Trace.
Larry was born in Cincinnati, son of Catherine and Stanley, the oldest brother of 6 boys: Phil, Joel, Steve, Dennis (deceased) and Ned (deceased). The Bloom household was sometimes a rough and tumble home to some big and energetic boys. At an early age Larry was introduced to outdoor sports, specifically hunting and fishing from his grandfather (Grandpa Wolfer). Grandpa Wolfer was also instrumental in teaching Larry about woodworking and overall handyman skills. His passion for hunting and fishing and overall fixing things and construction by hand escalated throughout the duration of his life.
Larry met his future wife MaryAnn at McNicholas High School. It was jokingly said that he liberated MaryAnn from the Future Nuns Club, a club she belonged to during their high school years. Larry and MaryAnn were only separated prior to marriage from each other during her nurse's education and his collegiate athletic career in basketball. They communicated through consistent love letters. They remained together until his recent passing.
Larry was a strong and dedicated worker rising from a repo collector and vacuum door to door sales to landing in the scrap metal industry as a well respected Metals Trader. Larry was a very good provider and developed great skill as an investor and with a diversified and elaborate portfolio from starting with minimal funds.
Larry and MaryAnn were married in 1960 three years after their High School graduation.
Larry and MaryAnn purchased their first home in MT Washington, OH where it remains in family ownership to this day.
On Larry’s first career big break he moved his fledgling family to the Chicago area and bought a modest house in Lake Forest, IL. A house that he would continuously modify and improve with the constant help of his sons until his health failed in 2010. On weekends he was hunting waterfowl during season or home renovating during hunting off season. Larry was always happy taking his entire family out to dinner and was a gracious host to parties at their home.
In the late 70s he purchased a cabin cruiser boat on Lake Michigan and named it lovingly after his wife MaryAnn. Larry soon found kindred hunting spirits in Lake Forest area and jointly purchased cornfields outside of Peoria on a duck migratory pathway. They constructed a duck hunting club. The club originally known as Lake Forest Hunt Club grew wildly popular, with escalating memberships and became The Goldeneye Duck Club, now a recognized top notch duck hunting facility in Illinois.
Larry never missed a day of hunting except during a gallbladder surgery and would commonly take his sons and grandsons to the hunting club. Larry was very well liked and revered by all the members of the Goldeneye Duck Club.
In 1987 Larry purchased a condominium in South Pasadena, FL and generously offered the condo to his father-in-law John and Ruth Veeneman who lived there for 18 years.
In 2010 on his way to meet his son, Andy and grandson Tyler for a weekend duck hunt he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke leaving him with dysphasia and many physical and cognitive challenges. Larry’s family aggressively sent him to rehabilitation for upwards of a year. Toward the end of his rehabilitation the Lake Forest home was sold and Larry and MaryAnn moved their residence to the FL condominium. Both retired, they participated in community activities and social functions.
After additional rehabilitation, Larry was able to return to his home with MaryAnn where he lived until 2022. Although his verbal communication was challenging, he was generally able to make his feelings known to friends and family. Larry was very gregarious and well known at social events and local taverns.
The Goldeneye Duck Club has requested a commissioned painting of Larry to be hung at the duck club and is planning a memorial service for its last living founding member.
If you wish, contributions can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Metropolitan
Ministries and Empath Hospice Care of Pinellas County.
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