David Eardley Bloomer, 93, Longtime Wilton Resident

The following obituary is from Magner Funeral Home, Inc.:

David Eardley Bloomer passed away peacefully on April 22nd.

Born on March 19th, 1923 in England to Florence Price Bloomer and Cyril Eardley Bloomer, David graduated from Haileybury College in Hertfordshire. He enlisted in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps (King’s 60th Rifles) as a Lieutenant at age 18. He was wounded in action, mentioned twice in dispatches for going behind enemy lines to recover the bodies of those under his command, and promoted on the field to Captain during the Battle of the Bulge. After the Battle of Remagen, crossing the Rhine, his regiment liberated Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He was sent to Tanganyika to train the King’s African Rifles after the Armistice.

Discharged, he worked in Nairobi, Kenya and later in New York with Standard Vacuum Oil Co. In 1957, he married Gertrude “Siddie” Shepard. They lived in London, Nairobi, New York, and then in Oley, PA in 1971 where David was President of The Survival Equipment Company. He was Rotary Club President in Fleetwood, President of the British Officers Club of Philadelphia, and a member of the St. George’s Society.

In 1997, he and his wife moved to Wilton, CT, where David quickly became an active member of the community. He was a board member and then served on the executive board of the Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County. He was an enthusiastic member of the parish of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. In addition to serving on the Vestry, he chaired the Thursday Luncheon Club and participated in the Outreach Committee for many years. A founding member of the Wi-ACT Committee, he helped relocate two refugee families and organize hundreds of thousands of “Stop Hunger Now” meals. He enjoyed membership of the Wilton Kiwanis Club and its philanthropic efforts.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Siddie Bloomer, his three children and their families: Jeremy, Martin, and Alice, their spouses Mary Bloomer, Wiebke-Marie Stock-Bloomer, and Jonathan Woods, and David’s grandchildren: William, Caroline, Christopher Bloomer; Cameron, Catherine, Lily Bloomer; Teddy and Andrew Woods.

David's funeral service will be held at St Matthews Episcopal Church in Wilton on Monday, May 2, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Visiting Nurse and Hospice http://www.visitingnurse.net/NHC-contact-us.html and Wi-ACT http://templebnaichaim.org/index.php/tikkun-olam/refugee-resettlement-project. to leave an online condolence, please go to: www.Magnerfuneralhome.com