[real-eyes] ribute of Chip Bloach on KC Star
- From: Brandie Young <deaftaz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: real-eyes <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2011 08:39:38 -0500
Ok, I made copy for you instead of KC Star's website here you go:
Who: Wheadon “Chip” Bloch, 54, of Kansas City.
When and how he died: Aug. 31 as the result of a traffic accident.
Kid lover: Though Chip never had children, he enjoyed interacting with
them, said his wife, Sherri Bloch.
“He loved to be silly and play with kids, to see them smile and make
them feel good,” she said. “He was very playful himself.”
Chip worked with children at Second Presbyterian Church, where he and
Sherri worshipped. He taught vacation Bible school and was a regular
participant in the church’s “Journey to Bethlehem,” a pageant for
children about Jesus.
“He was one of the Three Wise Men — he referred to them as the Three
Wise Guys — for several years and he loved that,” Sherri said.
When Chip married Sherri 11 years ago, he became a stepfather to her
daughter, Tiffany. Sherri said the two got along well. Tiffany often
would call Chip for advice or just to talk.
Sports and parks: A Kansas City native, Chip graduated from Southwest
High School, where he played clarinet in the band and orchestra.
Later, while attending the University of Missouri-Kansas City, he was
manager of the men’s basketball team. Chip was a loyal fan of the
University of Missouri, the Royals and the Chiefs.
“He always kept the faith with his teams,” Sherri said. “He referred
to the Royals and the UMKC Roos as ‘his boys.’”
Sherri is a University of Kansas fan, so when both MU and KU were on
television, the two watched in separate rooms.
“And if KU played MU, it was ugly,” she said with a laugh.
Chip loved his dogs, miniature schnauzers Fletcher and Gabby Lou, and
called them “the kids,” Sherri said. The dogs even were an important
consideration when buying a recliner.
“It had to be long enough to fit Chip and wide enough to fit him and
Gabby,” Sherri said.
Battling adversity: After a fire burned Chip out of his first
apartment, “he kept a smoke-stained phone from the apartment because
it gave him a chuckle,” said his brother, Jeff Bloch.
Chip worked as a chemist at the C.J. Patterson Co. until a detached
retina impaired his vision. He went through rehabilitation at the
Alphapointe Association for the Blind. Chip stayed on at the agency
when he met Sherri.
“I was not subtly chasing him,” Sherri said.
With partial eyesight, Chip no longer drove, so Sherri would take him home.
“He thought I was just being nice to the blind guy, (but) when someone
else offered him a ride home, I stepped in between them and said, ‘He
has a ride. Thank you very much.’”
Before they officially began dating in 1998, Chip told Sherri she had
to answer a list of questions, including what kind of pizza she liked
and how she hung the toilet paper on the spindle. Sherri passed, and
they married in 2000.
“Sherri reawakened his life and gave him the best years of his life,” Jeff said.
Chip taught at Metropolitan Community College and tutored students at
Alphapointe, helping them earn their general equivalency diplomas.
A nature lover, Chip toured a number of national parks before marrying Sherri.
“We had a goal to try to visit as many national parks as possible
before Chip lost more of his vision,” Sherri said.
Survivors include: His wife, his father and brother, a stepdaughter, a
mother-in-law, a brother-in-law, and several nieces and nephews.
Final thoughts: Sherri said Chip would be remembered for his outgoing
personality.
“He would talk to anybody,” she said. “He saw the humor in many
situations, using his puns and bad jokes.”
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