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.