Helen LaVerne (Englund) Blossom |
| Posted 2016-03-24 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Saturday, March 19, 2016, page 7a Helen Blossom February 1, 1927 - March 17, 2016 Helen LaVerne Blossom, 89, of Prescott, died on March 17, 2016, of metastatic breast cancer. Born Feb. 1, 1927, in Alexandria, Minnesota, Helen was the second of five children of Conrad and Florence (Lee) Englund. She was raised surrounded by a large extended family, which formed the bedrock of the local Assembly of God church. After graduating from high school in 1945, Helen sought the excitement and opportunities of the Twin Cities, so with $10 and a bus ticket in hand, she headed to Minneapolis. At first, Helen lived with relatives and worked in a window factory, but soon she found employment as a switchboard operator at St. Barnabas Hospital, where she remained until 1957. She joined the young people’s fellowship at the Minneapolis Gospel Tabernacle, making lifelong friends. Unmarried as she turned 30, Helen quit her job and headed west to Los Angeles. The following spring, while visiting friends in Oakland, she was introduced to Glenn Frank Blossom, a city planner originally from Wisconsin. He proposed one week later, but she refused. Glenn’s persistence eventually won her over, and the two were married on Sept. 12, 1959, in Minnesota. After honeymooning at the headwaters of the Mississippi, they moved to Long Beach, California, where Glenn’s sister owned an apartment building. Helen managed the apartments while Glenn advanced in his career as a city planner. After the birth of their first son, Craig, in 1961, Helen devoted herself to parenting and church work. The couple had joined the Assembly of God church (now Christian Life Church) in Long Beach after their marriage, and they remained there for nearly 30 years. Helen was a leader in women’s ministries and anchored the alto section of the choir. In 1968, their second son, Jay, was born, and in 1971, the family moved to nearby Cerritos. Helen kept busy with the boys’ school activities, sports and music lessons. She also joined the women’s auxiliary at Whittier Presbyterian Hospital, where she volunteered weekly. Throughout the 1980s, she also worked part time as a billing clerk for a portable X-ray provider. In 1996, after Glenn retired, he and Helen moved to Prescott, where they made new friends and eventually became active at the Nazarene Church. Helen cared for Glenn during his long struggle with Parkinson’s disease. After his death in 2012, she enjoyed traveling and socializing with friends even after she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2014. Helen was uncommonly gregarious, hospitable and warm. An outstanding hostess and baker, she was especially proud of maintaining the Swedish holiday traditions and foods of her childhood. She is survived by her son Craig and his wife Becky of Noblesville, Indiana; her son Jay of Philadelphia; and her grandson Trevor of Indianapolis; as well as her sister, Murial Davis of Sun City; and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 21, 2016, at the First Church of the Nazarene, 2110 Willow Creek Road, Prescott. Interment of ashes will take place at a later date in Alexandria, Minnesota. Memorial gifts may be made to Gideons International at www.sendtheword.org. Mortuary services provided by Heritage Memory Mortuary, Prescott. Information provided by survivors. |
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