Dorothy Bloom

IN HONOR AND CELEBRATION OF DOTTIE GALL BLOOM

Dorothy Dottie Bloom was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on April 12, 1920 to Marjorie and Richard Holden. Dottie slipped away peacefully on November 17, 2015 in the company of family and friends.

When Dottie was six the family moved to West Lafayette where her dad worked for the American Guernsey Cattle Club. She was a whiz at school and skipped the second grade. She graduated from West Side High School in 1937, and from Purdue University in 1941. She married her husband, Clarence (Cotton) Gall on the sly because pilot candidates for World War II could not be married. After the wedding, Cotton left for pilot school to serve in the Navy, and Dottie worked as a dietician in Chicago during the war years.

Dottie and Cotton moved to Columbia City in 1946 to help Grandpa Holden milk the herd and run Collinwood Farm. They had 6 children: Sandy, Dick, Ollie, Francie, Tom, and Constance, with three of the girls leaving life way too early to be with God. Dottie helped Cotton with a variety of business projects that included farming, running the Barrel restaurant and his own construction company, developing quick marts and finally they built and ran Diplomat Apartment. Dottie was at Dads side for all of his Rotary travels.

Dottie and Cotton bought a small cottage on Crooked Lake in 1953, and every summer moved the crew nine miles out of town the day after school let out for the entire summer. Dottie was the perfect hostess. The cottage was full of cousins and friends every sunny day. Everyone enjoyed hours of swimming, water skiing and surf boarding behind an old 40 horse power motor on a fiberglass boat. There was no air-conditioning in those days, and if you complained it was too hot to sleep, Dottie was always the first to join you for a midnight dip in the lake. Mom loved to swim and continued her half-mile side stroking to the Thompson pier every summer day through her seventies.

Dottie was a great cook. She and Cotton had a garden and Dottie loved to serve wilted lettuce and BLT sandwiches. Who can forget the amazing lunches at the pier all hand delivered by Mom down the 25 hand poured cement steps from the cottage to the pier. Dottie was the only mom who arrived at little brother Toms T-ball games with a hamper of food with real silver ware, pot roast, and delicious German Sweet Chocolate Cake.

Dottie loved her children and grandchildren Jessica, Emily, Sallie, and Richard. She attended all the school and sports events she could get to. She was a great seamstress and sewed graduation, party, costumes, and cheerleading outfits for daughter Francie, and doll costumes for granddaughters. And Dottie loved her precious sisters, Ruth and Beeba, and all of their antics growing up in Lafayette and at Purdue, and all the holidays and summers spent together with nieces and nephews.

Dottie earned her pilots license and a secondary education decree while her children were finishing high school. Dottie found time to serve as a volunteer for the welfare department helping young mothers learn how to parent. She loved her Pi Phi Sorority from college days, and served as the housemother for two years in her later years.

Dottie was a great golfer. She played with Cotton after work and was active in the Crooked Lake Womens Golf League. Weekends included gatherings with the Bernie Bernie card club on the pontoon boat, and two or three weekly bridge clubs.

Dottie learned to play piano from her grandmother in the second grade, and taught herself the organ. She played organ at the Grace Lutheran Church and was always available to help with Sunday School. Dotties faith was never a topic of discussion it just was.

In her later years Dottie especially loved the activities of the Kikionga Canoe Club. At age 70, the members still cross-country skied, canoed and all other manner of high adventure.

After Cotton died, Dottie married Joe Skurka and after his passing married Bill Bloom. Bill was an IU graduate and played football for IU back in the day. She and Bill traveled and enjoyed their families. Dottie cared for him until his passing, and Bills family always stayed in touch.

In her 80s, Dottie lived a while at Meadowood in Bloomington and in 2010 moved to Ashford Place in Shelbyville, where sister Ruth had retired with husband Sam. Niece, Cathy and her daughter and husband (Christine and Shelbyville Mayor Tom DeBaun) and their children (Grace, Cora and Sara) were frequent visitors for Sunday morning family breakfasts with Dottie, and Christine hosted Dottie and her crew for many events at her home.

Dottie was a doer. She faced many difficult times with the loss of 3 children and husbands, but nary a negative word. She was strong and bright and determined. She left us with the sense that life was full of opportunities for the taking. Her first and highest calling was always to help others, whether a child or a friend in need, or a welfare mom or someone in the neighborhood. She never tooted her own horn. She loved life in her own style and was full of joy, goodness, and a sense of right that she passed on to all without a word spoken.

In her last days she was sometimes with a loss for words, but never lost her bright smile, shinning eyes and wonderful singing. Who knew that one person could sing Back Home Again and Cruising Down the River so many times?

Mom was our gift from God. Our thanks to the wonderful friends at Ashford Place, Bell Trace, and Hospice that loved her through her final days.

Dottie was survived by her children, Richard Holden Gall of Texas, Thomas Joseph Gall of Houston, Texas, Frances G. Hill and her husband, George C. Thompson of Bloomington, Indiana; and grandchildren, Sallie Lodewyck and her husband, Garrett and daughter, Molly Margaret of Boulder, Colorado, Jessica Gall Myrick and her husband, Scott and granddog, Biscuit of Bloomington, Emily Gall Colombo and her husband, Brian of Lafayette, Indiana and Richard Gall and his wife, Stephanie and son Ross and daughter Meg in Lewisville, Texas.

The family will host a celebration of Dotties life at her cottage in northern Indiana in the spring. Anyone may send condolences to the family through www.DeMoneyGrimes.com .