Irmi Blum

IRMI BLUM Longtime civic leader and businesswoman, dies at age 97. The Funeral will be held at Bobbitt's Memorial Chapel at 1299 E. Highland Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92404 on Friday June 18, 2010, at 11:00 A.M. Interment will be at the Home of Eternity Cemetery at 801 N. Sierra Way, San Bernardino. For many years Irmi Blum was a fixture of downtown San Bernardino. She was active in the Redevelopment agency, and a member of the downtown revitalization project. She founded the San Bernardino support group for the City of Hope and was an active member of the City of Hope advisory board as well as a facilitator in obtaining admission to the City of Hope for cancer-stricken San Bernardino residents. A very ardent supporter of Cal State San Bernardino and a member of the Cal State advisory board, she was also a member of the elite President Clinton task force, the first woman president of the California Retail Jewelers Association, an active member of Hadasah, the B'nai B'rith, and the sisterhood of Congregation Emanu El, Civic Light Opera, and the California Theatre of Performing Arts. She was on the board of managers for The Home of Eternity Cemetery and the United Jewish Appeal, also known as the United Jewish Welfare Fund. She died on Tuesday June 15, 2010, at the age of 97. Irmi was active in civic affairs through her early 90's and showed as much energy and excitement for San Bernardino as she had in the jewelry business that she and her husband Hugo owned. Hugo Blum Jewelers was a fixture in San Bernardino for over 50 years, and Irmi was a certified gemologist. Every patron who walked into the store was hit with her ear-to-ear smile and greeted with "Well, hi there! How are you today?" Irmi heroically shepherded her husband Hugo and their infant daughter, Sonja out of Nazi Germany in 1939. She experienced "Kristallnacht", or The Night of Broken Glass, firsthand and was later very generous in giving of her time as a public speaker on Kristallnacht and the Nazi takeover of Germany. She was a strong advocate and generous donor to the Israeli Zionist movement. She was an active correspondent with most of the major leaders of the free world, having running written communications with President Clinton, Queen Elizabeth, Benjamin Netanyahu and others. Her most generous philanthropic donations went to Congregation Emanu El when they were in San Bernardino. She and her husband, Hugo contributed generously to fund the purchase of a Sephardic Torah which dates back to the 15th or 16th century. Among other gifts, they donated a 6 foot high gold plated Menorah, a silver breast plate to adorn the cover of the Torah and the temple's Chuppah (the canopy under which Jewish weddings are ritually performed). She is survived by her daughter, Sonja Lavitt; grandsons, Alan Lavitt and Larry Lavitt; and granddaughter, Laurie Lavitt-Tuck & her husband, Alan Tuck; grandson, Cody Lavitt and his wife, Atsuko. Memorial contributions can be made in her name to the City of Hope or The Home Of Eternity Cemetery.

Irmi Blum

April 23, 1913 - June 15, 2010