Alma D Blume

Alma Doris (Whalen) Blume, age 95, of Fonda, Iowa died Saturday, March 28, 2015 at the Fonda Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of Alzheimer’s Disease. Funeral mass will take place Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Fonda. Burial will be in the Mt. Zion Catholic Cemetery in Fonda. Visitation will take place Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. until the time of the service at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church. The Mahaney Funeral Home in Fonda is in charge of the arrangements. Alma was born to Joseph and Maggie Whalen on April 5, 1919 in Round Lake, Minnesota. She attended rural schools at Worthington and Iona in Minnesota and Lake Center and Dickens Community schools in Iowa. Alma was united in marriage to Lloyd Joseph Blume on June 14, 1937 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Spencer, Iowa. They were blessed with three children, Elizabeth Louise, Allen Joseph and Ronald Wayne. Alma and Lloyd also raised three of their grandchildren, David, Debora and Dennis Blume. Alma and Lloyd worked on various farms in the Spencer and Dickens area until they started farming for themselves northwest of Denison. They farmed in Crawford and Shelby counties from 1937 to 1955. Alma and Lloyd moved to Fonda and operated the Gamble Store from 1955 to 1970. Alma then served in a variety of positions at the Fonda Care Center from 1970 until her retirement in 1996, including kitchen cook, dietary supervisor, and nursing assistant. Alma was involved in many local activities including president and vice president of the Fonda Women’s Club and Pocahontas County Women’s Club. She was a member of Catholic parishes in Denison, Defiance and Dow City from 1940 to 1956. She was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Fonda from 1956 to her death in 2015. Alma was a member of the O.L.G.C. Catholic Daughters of America. She also served two years as the den mother for Cub Scouts Den No. 2 and one year as the den mother for the Webelos. She is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth Swanson, Ankeny, Iowa; sons, Dr. Allen Blume (Andi), West Des Moines, Iowa and Ronald Blume (Pam), Ocala, Florida; 16 grandchildren, David Blume (Jennifer Jaszczak), Cottage Grove, Minnesota; Debora Blume (Eric Woolson), West Des Moines, Iowa; Dennis Blume (Federica), Fonda, Iowa; Dr. Regina Blume Cygan (Kurt Brueschke), Fort Dodge; Michael Blume (Stacey Gasperi-Clennon), North Liberty; Cheryl Riley (Dan), Spencer, Iowa; Alan Swanson (Vicki), Ankeny, Iowa; Lori O’Meara (Mark), West Des Moines, Iowa; Roxanne Townsend (Robert), Denison, Iowa; Rita Swanson, Denison, Iowa; Katherine Nielson, Denison, Iowa; John Swanson (Judy), Johnston, Iowa; Joy Plattner, Denison, Iowa, Janice Graff (Steve), Portland, Oregon, Paige Blume, Charlotte, North Carolina and Devon Blume, Ocala, Florida; three step-grandchildren, Dodi Petersen, Collins, Iowa, Dan O’Lena (Kim), St. Augustine, Florida, and Debra Fecho, Boone, Iowa; 23 great-grandchildren; 17 great-great grandchildren; and nine great-great-great grandchildren; brother Melvin Whalen (Lillian), Dickens, Iowa, sisters-in-law Nancy Blum, Anoka, Minnesota, and Marie Blum, Earling, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her husband, Lloyd, brother, Joseph Whalen, sisters, Florence Blighton, Bertha Strohman, Jenny Piscator, Mae Reinholdt; son-in-law Darrell Swanson, and great-great-grandson Shawn Ortig. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Fonda Nursing and Rehabilitation Center to support activities for its Alzheimer’s patients.

Alma D Blume

April 5, 1919 - March 28, 2015