Olive Zoe Bloom

Olive Zoe Bloom, 87, died September 30, 2020, in Wichita, Kansas. She was born January 5, 1933, in Sterling, Kansas, to Virginia Mae (Hutchins) and Archie J. “Jake” Selfridge, of Dighton, Kansas.

Olive married Lewis Theil Bloom on August 23, 1952, at the United Methodist Church in Dighton. Survivors include three sons, Lamont (Vicki), Wichita; Barry (Alice), Wichita; and Jim (Susan), Longmont, Colorado; 10 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.

Theil preceded her in death, on September 19, 2019 at Wichita, as well as her parents, Jake on July 3, 1976, at Drake, Colorado, and Virginia, August 20, 1994, at Pratt, Kansas.

She was also preceded in death by her four siblings, Sue Ann Selfridge, February 7, 1947, at Sterling, Kansas; Gilbert Lee Selfridge, December 3, 1987, at Dighton; Jim Selfridge, April 22, 2018, at Dighton; and Glenda Mae (Selfridge) Roberts, May 11, 2020, at Hot Springs, Arkansas. She was preceded in death by one granddaughter, Jennifer Lynn Bloom, March 6, 2020, at Andover, Kansas.

Olive was graduated from Lane County Community High School, Dighton, in 1950. She enrolled that fall at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, the member of her family to attend a four-year university. She left after her sophomore year to marry Theil and they started a family together.

Olive never gave up on her goal of obtaining a college degree, however, and with three boys at home under the age of 10, was graduated with a bachelor of science from Sterling College, Sterling, Kansas, in January, 1965.

Olive volunteered for various organizations during her life, including a hospital volunteer at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita; chair of the United Way campaign in Kingman, Kansas in 1984; and service on the state board for the Kansas Medical Auxiliary.

Olive and Theil were founding members in 1995 of the South Central Kansas Community Foundation, Pratt. She was the recipient of the foundation’s initial Outstanding Service Award, an annual award also named in her honor. They also supported the Pratt Regional Medical Center Foundation and together they were active participants in Sunday school classes.

Olive was a member of Calvary United Methodist Church, Wichita; PEO Chapter CI, Wichita; The American Association of University Women, Washington, D.C.; and the Sterling College Alumni Association.

Memorials to the Olive Zoe Bloom Memorial Fund at the South Central Kansas Community Foundation, Pratt, to provide scholarships for women seeking to continue their post-secondary education; Calvary United Methodist Church, Wichita; or the Great Plains United Methodist Camp Lakeside, Scott City.

Services were Saturday, October 3, 2020, at Reflection Pointe Funeral Chapel, 3201 S. Webb Road, Wichita, followed by burial at Reflection Pointe Cemetery, Wichita.

Watch Olive's Funeral Service