Ralph Roland Bloomstrand

Ralph was born in Chicago, Illinois to his Swedish immigrant parents, Roland and Anne Bloomstrand. He left us December 7, 2020, just two days shy of his 92nd birthday due to Covid-19.

In between he constructed a life that created a foundation for his loved ones. He moved with his young sister and parents to Salt Lake City, Utah, then spent a year in Sweden, where he learned to read and write in Swedish. Upon returning to the United States the family settled in Ketchum, Idaho. Ralph fly-fished with the teenage sons of Ernest Hemingway while Ralph's father taught tennis to the rich and famous in Sun Valley by day and socialized with the Hemingways in the evenings. The family next settled in Richland, Washington where Ralph graduated from high school then hitchhiked to Washington State College in Pullman.

He earned a degree in Chemical Engineering, which led to a 40-year career with General Electric, which took him across the country and back. His classmates voted him "Handsome Harry'', but more importantly he met the love of his life, Helen Conger (Bloomstrand), who shared his life for 68 years until she passed in 2019. He kept their wedding picture in his wallet all his life and shared it with everyone he met, and when he died he took it with him.

The family would like to thank Pacific Coast Manor and Dominican Hospital for their care during these trying times. Ralph leaves behind four of five children, six grandchildren and two great- grandchildren. A memorial service will

Published in Morgan Hill Times · January 27, 2021