Blom, Ernest E. – 1916-2009

BLOM, DYKSTRA, GROOTVELD, HARRINGTON, KERR, PITMAN, PLEIMA, TER LOUW, VAN DER POL, VANDER WAAL, VER PLOEG, VROOM

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 12/26/2009 at 16:01:57

Ernest E. Blom, 93, of Pella, Iowa, passed away Saturday at the Pella Regional Health Center in Pella.
Ernie is survived by three children, Betty and husband, Howard Van Der Pol, of Monroe, Iowa, Jim Blom of Otley, Iowa, and Phil Blom of Columbia, Mo.
A funeral service will be at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec., 22, 2009, at the Trinity Reformed Church in Pella. Interment will follow in the Oakwood Cemetery at Pella. Visitation begins today at the Van Dyk-Duven Funeral Home, and the family will be present from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Trinity Reformed Church.
For those desiring, memorials may be given for the Building Fund of the Trinity Reformed Church.
Source: Newton Daily News; Monday, December 21, 2009

Additional information from Van Dyk- Duven Funeral Home website:
Ernest Engle Blom was born on June 9, 1916, near Pella, Iowa, a son of Antonie M. and Josie Ver Ploeg Blom. As a young man Ernie worked on the family farm and when they were finished worked with the neighbors helping them finish picking their corn by hand. For a short time he worked for Maasdam Sorghum Company and also worked for Leonard Gosselink at South Woods Dairy.
Ernie started 4-H at the age of 10 years showing dairy and beef cattle and swine at county and state fairs. In 1932 he received the Champion Milk Production Cow Award, milking his cow 4 times a day, winning him a trip to Wisconsin. Later in life he was a 4-H leader working with young people for several years.
Ernie operated and owned South Woods Dairy farm south of Pella where he milked 50 cows by hand, bottled the milk and delivered it with a horse and wagon. He had one hired man and one college student part time.
Ernie met Mary Jane Vroom at the Central Park Café in Pella where she was a waitress and he was selling milk at the time. Mary Jane later took a job in Oskaloosa, Iowa working for a lawyer as a housekeeper. After dating for 2 years they were united in marriage on May 8, 1940, at the home of her parents, Catherines J. and Jennie Dykstra Vroom, near Oskaloosa. Ernie and Mary Jane went to Missouri for their honeymoon and to this union four children were born: Eugene Ernest who was stillborn in 1941, Betty Jean in 1942, James Anthony in 1946 and Phillip Ernest in 1956.
Ernie and Mary Jane farmed south of Pella and continued operating the South Woods Dairy until moving south of Monroe, Iowa. In 1966 they purchased a farm south of Otley, Iowa and 2 years later he started with the Carnation Cattle Breeding Company. After a couple of years it became a fulltime position so he sold the farm and they moved to Pella. After 10 years in the cattle breeding business he trained farmers to artificially inseminate their own herd. His son, Phil, eventually took over the business and Ernie worked as a salesman for Pella Feed & Grain. At the age of 65 years Ernie took up golfing as a hobby along with his playing cards and fishing. He and Mary Jane took a trip to Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. For several years during the winter months they lived in Arizona. In 1995 Ernie started selling Bovine Genetic Products and Sweet Pro Cattle Feed with his son, Phil, up until a few years ago. In year 2000 Mary Jane’s health necessitated additional supervision and care due to signs of dementia. Ernie entered the hospital in 2001 and Mary Jane became a resident at the Westridge Nursing & Rehab Center in Knoxville, Iowa. Ernie kept busy selling feed, golfing, fishing and playing cards, living a very active life. They had worked hard together all their married life, first in their dairy business, then farming and agricultural sales.
Mary Jane passed away on January 5, 2008, at the age of 87 years. They were privileged to enjoy 67 years of married life together and on Saturday morning, December 19, 2009, Ernie passed away at the Pella Regional Health Center in Pella at the age of 93 years.
Those who will cherish his memory are 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. They and their families are: Betty and her husband, Howard Van Der Pol of Monroe, IA; Douglas and Joni Van Der Pol of Ledyard, IA, Kristina,Jenna,and Olivia Van Der Pol; Julie and Dave Harrington of Ankeny, IA, Ashley,Brooke, and Ryan Harrington;Jim Blom of Otley, IA,Stuart Blom of Colorado Springs, CO, Jason and Michelle Blom of Moro, IL, Jake and Kayleigh Blom, and Matthew Blom of Knoxville, IA; Phil Blom of Columbia, MO, Cody Blom Kerr of Florida, Jessie Blom of Columbia, MO. Of his original family Ernie leaves his two sisters and a brother: Helen (Elmer) Vander Waal, Lawrence Blom and his wife, Irene all of Pella, Lenora and her husband, Albert Pleima of Leighton, Iowa; and the following sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law: Vernice (Vroom) and Paul Ter Louw, John and Muriel Vroom all of Pella, Wayne and Shirley Pitman of Barnes City, Iowa.
Ernie was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Jane, his stillborn son, Eugene; a granddaughter, Debbie J. Van Der Pol who died of burn injuries at the age of 2 years in 1972, a grandson, Donald L. Van Der Pol who died of injuries received in an industrial accident in 1987 at the age of 20 years; his parents, A. M. and Josie Blom; his parents-in-law, C. J. and Jennie Vroom; his brother-in-law, Elmer Vander Waal; a sister-in-law, Margaret (Vroom) Pitman; and a brother-in-law, Henry Grootveld.
Ernie was baptized and made profession of his faith at the First Christian Reformed Church in Pella. He and Mary Jane were members of the Prairie City Christian Reformed Church at Prairie City, Iowa, the Otley Christian Reformed Church in Otley and the Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Pella before becoming members of the Trinity Reformed Church in Pella where they were members at the time of their deaths.