David Martin Bluhm

David Martin Bluhm, age 81, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on August 16th, 2019. The only child of Harvey and Elsie Bluhm, he was born May 21st, 1938, at St. Vincent's Hospital in Portland, OR. David spent the first three years of his life in a logging camp in Jewell on the Oregon coast, moving from there to Crabtree, OR, and eventually to Springfield, OR. After graduating from Springfield High School in 1956, he went on to Pacific Lutheran University, where he graduated in 1961 with a BA in Business Administration. He married Judith Gasaway in 1962 at Zion Lutheran Church in Camas, WA. His first job was at Cascade Fiber in Eugene, OR, the first step in his career in the composite wood industry. Fiberboard was a new product, resulting in growth in the industry, which meant new plants and many moves until joining Jeld-Wen in 1972 and settling in Klamath Falls, OR. An innovator in the emerging technology of composite wood fabrication, his job for many years involved substantial travel, which remained a lifelong interest. After 28 years, he retired from Jeld-Wen in 2000 as Vice-President of Research and Development. That same year he and Judy designed and built a new home on Awbrey Butte in Bend, OR, situated so he could see Mt. Bachelor from the breakfast table and decide whether or not it was a good day to ski. David was a member of Rotary for over 30 years, remaining active even after retirement and for many years was the top duck salesman in the Greater Bend Rotary Club for the annual charity Duck Race on Mirror Pond. Other philanthropic interests included the Rotary Foundation, through which he endowed Paul Harris Awards for all eleven family members, the PLU Q Club and the Bill Berg Foundation of Greater Bend Rotary Club. David enjoyed hiking, biking, and golf but all paled in comparison to downhill skiing. He and Judy travelled extensively, with David accomplishing the feat of visiting all seven continents when, with Jeffrey, he set foot, and even camped overnight, on Antarctica in 2006. After Judy, with whom he celebrated their 57th anniversary in March and his family, his greatest love was cars. Income from his high school job allowed him to arrive at PLU with a brand-new '56 Chevy; though he eventually sold that one, in later years, he acquired another in the same turquoise and white, and delighted in showing it at competitions and driving in Bend's Flashback Cruz. In recent years, he developed a passion for Porsche vehicles and enjoyed membership in the Porsche Club, especially the Arrive and Drives. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2004, David was rarely down and never defeated. His work with Rock Steady Boxing, a program for Parkinson's patients that through non-contact boxing helps maintain balance and mobility, kept him moving and gave him another opportunity to meet and make new friends. His genuine interest in everyone he met means that there will be many people, from every stage of his life, to mourn his passing. David is survived by his wife, Judy; two sons-Jeffrey (PLU '87) and wife, Lisbet; Michael (PLU '91) and wife, Elizabeth; and 5 grandchildren, Alexandra, Nicholas, Jordan (PLU '21), Chase and Ava. Members of Grace First Lutheran Church, David's memorial service will be held there on Saturday, August 31st, at 1 pm. A reception will follow at Awbrey Glen Golf Club from 2-4 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in tribute to David to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, OHSU Parkinson's Center or the Bill Berg Foundation of the Greater Bend Rotary Club, PO Box 1644, Bend, OR 97709

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David Martin Bluhm

May 21, 1938 - August 16, 2019