Barbara Ruth (May) Bloom

Barbara Ruth (May) Bloom, formerly of Bloomfield, passed away on Saturday evening, January 30th, in Randolph, NJ. She was born in New London and grew up in the village of Chesterfield. She was daughter of the late Helen Kaplan and Samuel May. Barbara was predeceased by her loving husband of 53 years, Leonard, her son Alan Michael, and her brother Ira May. She is survived by her daughter Susan and son in law Jacob, granddaughters, Rachel Helen and Hanna Nicole all of Randolph, NJ. Barbara attended Williams Memorial Institute High School (1951) and Mitchell College Class of 1953. After college she worked at General Dynamic’s Electric Boat Division. She was part of the support team for the first US Atomic Submarine, the SSN-571 Nautilus. In 1956, Barbara married and moved to East Raymond Street in Hartford. Three years later they moved to Bloomfield where she would reside until 2018. She then moved to the JCHC Lester Housing in Whippany, NJ to be near her family. Barbara loved to knit. She began making Barbie clothes for her daughter and she turned it into a successful business exhibiting her creations statewide. In the winter, she would also knit hats, gloves, and scarves for those less fortunate. She worked at Cigna (CG) part time and put her love of travel to work at Welcome Aboard Travel, both of Bloomfield. Years later she worked for Attorney Marc Needelman. Another passion of Barbara’s was politics, and she served on the Bloomfield Democratic Town Committee and a member of the Commission on the Aging as Secretary. When the Bloom’s first moved to Bloomfield they joined the congregation of Beth Hillel Synagogue. It was there they met many of their closest friends. Barbara immediately became an active member. She served as Ways & Means Vice President and President of Sisterhood. Both she and Lenny were involved on the Mr. & Mrs. Club. She was best known for always being the reservations chairperson for many synagogue events. She was also an active member of the Hartford Chapter of Hadassah. Barbara will be remembered most for the smile on her face. She was kind, thoughtful and willing to help anyone in need. Funeral services will be held graveside at the Beth Hillel Cemetery, 80 Wolcott Road, East Granby at noon on Thursday, February 4th. If you would like to celebrate Barbara’s life from a distance, below is a link to join in. You must be accepted into the group so please log in promptly between 1150a-12 noon. After 12 noon the service will begin, and the group access will close. meet.google.com/gon-vypo-hyt