Caroline Bloy

BLOY, Caroline Church Activist and Educator Whether pacing the field hockey sidelines, organizing hymn sings at church, walking her standard poodles in the woods, or debating politics at dinner parties, Caroline Bloy rarely sat still.The long-time Newton resident was "a force to be reckoned with," recalled her daughter, Sarah Bloy. "Opinionated, full of energy, and always trying to bring people together." Mrs. Bloy, 86, died April 30 of cancer, with her children at Parmenter Hospice in Wayland.Born Caroline Parker Kuhn in New York City, Mrs. Bloy grew up in New York City and Bedford, N.Y. in a family that included a long line of West Point graduates. She graduated from Chapin School and later from Bouvé Boston School at Tufts College with a degree in physical education. After World War II, she volunteered to help rebuild cities in Germany, and then returned to Boston to work at several colleges. Mrs. Bloy taught physical education and coached athletics at Simmons College, Wellesley College, and Pine Manor Junior College. She also worked in the admissions office at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, where she coordinated a program for returning adult students. Mrs. Bloy was a lifelong active member of the Episcopal Church, and in 1954 married the Rev. Myron B. Bloy Jr., a national leader in college campus ministries. She was active in several Episcopal communities, including Parishfield in Michigan, Grace Church in Newton, and St. Brendan the Navigator in Stonington, Maine. The couple and their three children lived for many years in Newton, where Mrs. Bloy worked as a real estate broker and also co-founded a food cooperative of more than a hundred families, operating out of her home's basement. A progressive Democrat, Mrs. Bloy was passionate about the human justice movement and animal rights. She was a dedicated New England Patriots and Boston Celtics fan, but paid little attention to other aspects of pop culture. She once played doubles tennis with Clint Eastwood without realizing that her partner was a famous actor. For many friends and family members, the strongest memories of Mrs. Bloy revolve around Little Deer Isle, Maine, where she and the Rev. Bloy spent summers at the house they built in the 1960s. There Mrs. Bloy enjoyed organizing games and songs for visitors, walking with her dogs, tending her vegetable garden, sailing with her family, and feeding her friend Oscar the seagull on the granite ledge in front of the house. Mrs. Bloy retired in 1998 to Topsham, Maine, but she kept in touch with a wide circle of friends, who knew her as "Kuhnie," from as far back as girlhood summers at Singing Eagle Lodge on Squam Lake, N.H. She was predeceased by her husband, her sister Margaret Rockefeller, and her brother Richard Kuhn Jr. She leaves three children Michael Bloy of Southborough, Peter Bloy of Newton, and Sarah Bloy of Brunswick, Maine and six grandchildren: Anna, Frederick, Caroline, Cameron, Owen, and Luther. A memorial service will be held May 7, at 2 p.m. in Grace Church, Newton. Mrs. Bloy asked that donations in her name go to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn. (www.elephants.com).