Marda Bloom

Our beloved Mom, Marda Gayle Bloom, 80, of Baker City, Oregon, surrounded by her family in her final hours, passed on January 7, 2024, at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID.
Mom was born on August 23, 1943, to James and Lena (Gorham) Newman and was the youngest of four children. As a child she loved to tap-dance, spend time with her cousins, and learned to sew,
later sewing many of her own clothes. She grew up in the North Powder area and graduated from Baker High School in 1961. She then attended Boise Junior College. She met our Dad, Terry Speelman of Baker, in her early 20s when they worked together at the Baker Police Department. They soon married, and together raised their 4 children, Cheri, Randy, Bob and Erin. Once we
were grown, she went to work for a local attorney in Baker, until 1990 when she took a position as office manager at the Baker County District Attorney’s office. Mom and Dad divorced, and she married Ron Bloom in 1994. Mom went on to retire from the District Attorney’s office in 2006 after 16 years of dedicated service.
Mom has been a member of Baker City Christian Church for over 60 years. In that time, she taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, helped with potlucks, organized VBS, visited the sick, gave people rides to church and appointments, took food to “shut-ins,” and organized many potlucks and prayer chains. She helped with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and was always a “class mom” in her children’s classes in grade school, alternating 2 classes every year. She sang in the Community Choir, volunteered at the Senior Center, and was very active in the Possettes for many years.
Mom taught Cheri to sew at age 8 and was an active parent in Little League when all three of her boys were young. She never missed our school or sporting events from the time we were in grade school through our high school years. Mom loved to sing, camp, hunt mushrooms, pick huckleberries, make jam, bake bread and cinnamon rolls, and was al- ways up for a barbecue. She enjoyed playing pinochle, cribbage, volleyball, and the piano. Mom was a bargain shopper, she couldn’t resist a yard sale and always had her eye on the good deals at the grocery store. She enjoyed the outdoors and took long walks daily. But what our Mom loved most of all was her family. She hosted family gatherings and rarely missed a reunion. Her children and our families were the light of her life, and she never forgot a birthday card or letter for any of us.
She is survived by her husband, Ron; her daughter, Cheri (Jon Taylor)Speelman of Seattle, WA; her sons, Randy (Deni) Speelman of Baker City, Bob (Kim) Speelman, Vale, Erin (Tammy) Speelman of Hermiston; step-daughter Tammy Bloom of Baker City; 9 grandchildren: Jami (Matt), Malik, Jessie, Joe (Jennifer), Beth, Emily, Maddie (Josh), TJ, Mariah; 15 great-grandchildren: Anna, Cameron, Shani, Amaya, Jessie, Ava, Taytum, Keegan, Dylan, Logan, Chayden, Brycen, Brantlee, Easton, BoDene; and 2 great-great-grandchildren, Blakely and Averi; a brother, Kerry (Marie) Newman, and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
Our beautiful Mom had a loving heart, kind eyes, a gentle demeanor and she lit up a room with her great big smile. She was always forgiving, never carried a grudge, and saw the absolute best in everyone. To know her was to love her, and she made the world a better place. We will be hosting a Celebration of  Mom’s Life this summer in Baker City,
and everyone will be welcome. Date, time and place to be announced.