Barbara Bloom

We celebrate the life of our beloved mother, Barbara Bloom, 80, who passed away peacefully at her home in Denver, CO on September 1, 2022.

A native New-Yorker, Barbara was born to Lawrence and Virginia Bayer in the Bronx, NY on June 17, 1942. Residing in NYC for nearly 40 years, Barbara eventually migrated West with her husband and two children. Although Barbara left her beloved city behind, it forever remained an indelible part of her personality.

A woman of strong character, Barbara was known for being cheerful, outgoing and loquacious. She took great pride in her children, living long enough to welcome two great-grandchildren into the world. In addition to being a single-mother, Barbara successfully fulfilled a variety of roles throughout her life: bookkeeper, teacher, business-owner, counselor, volunteer and disability advocate. She was dedicated to life-long learning, with a special love of history that centered around ancient Egypt and WWII. Barbara was the first in her family to graduate from college, obtaining an Associates of Arts in Psychology from Yavapai College in 1998.

Residing within a petite frame of 5'5 was the heart of an adventurer. A few of Barbara's many exploits include hunting, jumping out of airplanes, navigating the Everglades by airboat, traversing the Bahamas and taking long, rambling road trips with her son. Barbara had a profound love of animals, birds in particular, and her home was rarely absent of parakeets, lovebirds or cockatiels. She did not forget her feral friends, scattering nuts and seeds wherever she went. Barbara also shared her life with several beloved canine companions, all of whom she pampered shamelessly.

Barbara was a dedicated patron of the arts. She loved attending plays, listening to classical music and visiting museums. A prolific artist herself, Barbara produced museum-quality paintings in oil, acrylic and ink. She enjoyed crafting in general, including crocheting and cross-stitch. The Fall season would find her crunching through leaves, daughter in tow, hunting for pinecones and plants with which to make holiday wreaths and table decorations.

When she wasn't crafting, Barbara could be found in the kitchen whipping up delicious meals that she enjoyed sharing with others. Some of her food came from her own garden, where she could coax even the most stubborn of plants back to life. Barbara's culinary skills live on in her son, an accomplished chef and author of several cookbooks.

Finally, no summary of Barbara's life would be complete without mentioning her love of bags: handbags, canvas bags, totes, suitcases. If it had handles, she collected it.

Barbara is survived by her two children, Glenn Connaughton and Laura Bloom, her niece and nephew Khadija Riaz and Nadeem Kazi, her three wonderful grandchildren, Kenneth, Christian and Savanna Connaughton, her two great-grandchildren Kohan and Olivia Connaughton, her gentle canine companion Buddy and a very timid parakeet named Wee Willy.