Pastor Carl W. Bloomquist  1922 - 2008

BLOOMQUIST, PASTOR CARL W., 85, longtime Lutheran clergyman, died quietly in his sleep in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on January 17, 2008.

He was born December 5, 1922, in Hartford, CT, to August R. and Signe K. (Dahl) Bloomquist. After graduating from the nations second oldest high school (Hartford Public High School), he pursued college and seminary studies in the Midwest at Luther Junior College (Wahoo, NE), Bethany College (Lindsborg, KS) and Augustana Seminary (Rock Island, IL). He was ordained in 1949 at Mt. Olivet Church in Minneapolis, MN, and married Lorraine Colson of Mattapan, MA, in 1950. His first two assignments were two mission parishes: Christ Church in Natick, MA and Messiah Church on Tamiami Trail in Miami, FL. He was instrumental in relocating dozens of refugees from war-torn Latvia and Estonia into the community in eastern Massachusetts. It marked his lifelong interest in social mission. In Miami, he mobilized volunteers to build a chapel and church school out of cinder blocks to replace the used circus tent that had been used for worship services. Bloomquist returned to his native New England in 1953, never guessing he would go on to serve at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Warwick for 40 years. In the era of fantastic growth in the suburbs, Pilgrim went from an old nightclub site on Warwick Lake to its present beautiful structure on Warwick Avenue near Hoxsie Four Corners. The membership also grew until it was the largest Lutheran church in the state.

Pastor Bloomquist strove to promote global peace and to connect his congregation with the world at large. For instance, his seminary roommate, a missionary in Hiroshima, needed a bell for his chapel. Bloomquist implored the Pilgrim church school children to help. One boy wrote to President Kennedy who arranged for a retired naval ships bell to be donated. Other arrangements were made with Japan Airlines for a woman to travel to Rhode Island, accept the bell and place it into service in Hiroshima. He often conducted dialogue sermons with guests such as Senator Claiborne Pell and he organized the first ecumenical service with Pilgrims close neighbor, St. Timothy's Catholic Church.
 

Bloomquist himself took an avid interest in visiting other countries, sharing his ideals overseas and returning home to share his experiences with his church and family. One notable experience was accompanying his father-in-law, Olympic track team manager Ralph Colson, to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He regularly organized charter tours to Denmark and Sweden where many church members visited relatives. He commemorated the 450th anniversary of the Reformation in Wartburg, Germany. Just before his retirement from Pilgrim, he attended the 600th anniversary of the canonization of Swedish Saint Birgitta before Pope John Paul II at St. Peters in Rome. After retiring from Pilgrim, Bloomquist served as associate pastor at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Greenwich up until his death. In his retirement he was instrumental in many areas of Swedish-American culture, serving on the Heritage Committee and the Board of the Scandinavian Home for the Aged, and receiving a tribute medal from King Gustav V of Sweden for his work. He also received an Alumni of Merit award from Bethany College and the Heart Award from Lutheran Social Services of New England. Retirement gave him time to write and study genealogy. He received an award from the Concordia Historical Society for Nazi Swastika and Luther Rose, an historical account of a German-American minister wrongfully convicted in Hartford of alleged spying for the Nazis during WWII. Archivists in Sweden assisted him to discover relatives, which led to re-establishment of family relationships between America and Sweden.
 

Bloomquist is survived by three sons: Stephen and his wife, Faith of Woburn, MA; Peter and his wife, Toom of Las Vegas, NV; and Mark and his wife, Jeanne of St. Louis Park, MN; by five grandchildren:  Annikki of Rye, NY; Dana of Cochabamba, Bolivia; Andreas of Woburn, MA; and Ted and Marty of St. Louis Park, MN; and by three cousins: Kjartan Johannsson of Reykjavik, Iceland, Gunilla Sandin of Sodertalje, Sweden; and Ola (Berit) Granath of Solvesborg, Sweden.

A Memorial Service will be held at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1817 Warwick Avenue in Warwick at Noon on Saturday January 26. Calling hours will be held at the church prior to the service from lOAM until Noon. Luncheon at the church immediately following the memorial service. Committal of his ashes will be at St. Nicolas Church, Varmdo, Sweden, where Bloomquist's ancestors served as clergy from the 1600s forward. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Bloomquist Education Fund, c/o Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 1817 Warwick Ave., WarwicK, RI 02889, or to Lutheran World Relief, P.O. Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21298-9832 or at http://www.lwr.org. Information and condolences at http://www.carpenterjenks.com. 

(Source:  Providence Sunday Journal, January 20, 2008)