R. Lee Bloom D.O.

R. Lee Bloom, D.O., of Fairview, died at St. Vincent Health Center after a long illness on December 27, 2013. He was 75.

Dr. Bloom was born November 10, 1938 in Bellevue, Pa., the only son of Roy and Margret Ann Bloom. He grew up in Johnstown, Pa., graduating from Richland High School in 1956. He earned a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Pittsburgh in 1961. He graduated from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1965 and practiced briefly in Chicago before moving to Colorado, where he started a new practice and a family.

He returned to Pittsburgh in 1977 to begin a fellowship at Shadyside Hospital. In 1982, he moved to the Erie area, where he practiced hematology and oncology until 1998, when heart disease forced him into early retirement.

In the years following his retirement, Dr. Bloom particularly enjoyed delivering daffodils from the American Cancer Society to his surviving patients.

He was a member of the American Osteopathic Association, the American Medical Association, and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

An avid fly fisherman, Dr. Bloom was a lifetime member and one-time president of Trout Unlimited, as well as president of the Erie Casting Club.

Dr. Bloom was also a fan of auto racing and competed as a member of the SCCA in the early 1970s. He was known for his passion for Alfa Romeo sports cars. He loved big band jazz and classical music and was a longtime supporter of the Erie Philharmonic.

Dr. Bloom is survived by his wife of 43 years, Dorothy Bloom; his daughter, Alexis Bloom of Chicago, Ill.; his son and daughter-in-law, Christopher and Ellen; and grandson Owen, all of Columbia, Md.

The Blooms would like to thank the ICU nursing staff of St. Vincent for providing comfortable care to Dr. Bloom in his final days.

Friends may call on Friday at the Francis V. Kloecker Funeral Home, Inc., 2502 Sassafras St., Erie, PA 16502 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and also on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the time of the service at noon with the Rev. Don Baxter officiating. Send condolences to www.kloeckerfuneralhome.com

Entombment in Calvary Mausoleum.

Gifts in Dr. Bloom's memory may be made to the American Cancer Society of Erie or the Erie Philharmonic in lieu of flowers.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits