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Gladys Blume

July 20, 1931 – April 17, 2019

Gladys Mabel (Vol-

brecht) Blume, 87, died

on Wednesday, April 17,

2019 at home in the pres-

ence of her loving family.

Friends and family are in-

vited to join in a celebra-

tion of her life at a

memorial service at two

o’clock in the afternoon

on Saturday, June 22,

2019, at Faith Lutheran

Church in Keizer OR

(4505 River Road N, Keiz-

er, OR 97303). Rather

than memorials the family

requests that you keep

Gladys’ memory alive in

your heart by living a life

guided by kindness and

empathy.

Gladys was born on

July 20, 1931 to Delbert

and Ella (Garbe) Volbrecht

in Bottineau ND and

raised in the nearby town

of Kramer. As a child she

had a creative mind and

enjoyed crafting ships

from wood scraps that she

would float down Stone

Creek. In school she was a

talented clarinetist for the

Kramer Band, a dedicated

student who traversed the

snowy plains in a horse-

drawn sleigh school bus

operated by her father,

and a loyal employee of

Kromrey’s Grocery Store

and her mother’s dress

shop in Kramer. She at-

tended university at the

North Dakota Agricultural

College in Fargo, where

she met the love of her

life and future husband,

Harold Blume. The two

were married on No-

vember 19, 1950 at Grace

Lutheran Church in Far-

go.

Together Gladys and

Harold shared a storied

life operating Blume Farm

near the Minot Air Force

Base. She was a gifted

chef and baker, providing

meals for her growing

family and numerous

farmhands over the years,

championing the Super

Bread Contest of the 1981

North Dakota State Fair,

and receiving endless

praise for her talents in

the kitchen. She was ac-

tive in the local communi-ty where she served as

President of the Lutheran

Women’s Missionary

League at Lynch Immanu-el Lutheran Church,

volunteer for U.S. Senator

Quentin Burdick, and

member of the Jet Belles

Homemakers Club, Farm-

ers Union, and Democrat-ic Party. After her chil-

dren were grown the cou-

ple moved to nearby

Minot for Harold’s em-

ployment as a broker for

Raymond James Financial

Services. They relocated

again in 2009 to Oregon

(6992 Arrowpoint Court

NE, Keizer OR 97303) to

be closer to family. Gla-

dys’ interests and talents

were endless and includ-

ed genealogy, writing,

knitting, painting, and

traveling. She considered

her travels through India

and Nepal as highlights of

her life, although her

greatest passion remained

loving and supporting her

husband and five chil-

dren. Throughout the

years she gained

numerous lifelong friends

from around the world, as

her kindness and com-

passion were boundless.

She is survived by her

lifelong sweetheart Harold

Blume, five children,

seven grandchildren, and

two great-grandchildren.

Her children are Fredrik

Blume and Jeanie Harwig

of Minneapolis MN, David

and Julie Blume of

Kathryn ND, Daniel and

Jennifer Blume of Port-

land OR, Mary and Jeffer-

son DeFerrari of Silverton

OR, and Roger and Elena

Blume of Redmond WA.

Her grandchildren are

Aaron Blume of Surprise

AZ, Lauren Blume and

Richard Saunders of Bur-

lington VT, Stephan and

Samantha Blume with

sons Logan and Leo of

Willmar MN, Clinton

Blume of Houston TX,

Hannah Blume of Port-

land OR, and Michael and

Ava Blume of Redmond

WA.