JANET L. BLOOM

AMHERST, Janet Marie Lehan Bloom, 60, of Amherst, died in a car accident on December 7, 2012.  Born July 29, 1952 in Norwood, MA she was the daughter of Catherine T. (McKenna) Lehan and the late Francis V. Lehan. 

Janet graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and received her Masters degree from Smith College.  For over thirty years, she worked at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech as a beloved teacher, guidance counselor and alumni coordinator.  Among her many accomplishments as an educator, Janet won the Teacher of the Year award in 2004 and established the Poetry Café, which provided children with hearing loss the opportunity to write and recite their poetry as a means of strengthening their listening and speech skills.  Both her colleagues and former students have lauded her caring and exemplary work at Clarke.  More recently, Janet worked as a valued volunteer at the Hospice Shop of the Fisher Home in Amherst.

Janet leaves her two beloved sons, Jason Bloom of Seattle, WA, and Alex Bloom of Amherst.  In addition to her mother, Janet is survived by her brothers, Kevin Lehan of Stoughton, MA, Richard Lehan of Plainville, MA, Thomas Lehan of Wrentham, MA, and her sisters, Diane Wuesthoff of North Attleboro, MA, and Elaine Ormond of Reading, MA.  She was the sister of the late Robert Lehan of Foxboro, MA.  She was also a beloved aunt to 13 nieces and nephews.

A funeral service for Janet will be conducted at 10am, on Friday, December 14, 2012, at The Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel in the Newman Center at the University of Massachusetts, 472 North Pleasant Street, Amherst. Burial will follow in Wildwood Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Janet’s memory can be made to the Hospice of the Fisher Home, 1165 North Pleasant Street in Amherst. Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

Service details, Social networking, Memorial Guestbook and Slideshow are available here.