Dr. Lewis Theil Bloom

Lewis Theil Bloom, 87, died September 19, 2019, in Wichita, Kansas. He was born March 1, 1932, at home on a farm northwest of Liberal, Kansas, to Mildred Catherine (Headrick) and Lewis Alfred Bloom.

Theil married Olive Zoe Selfridge on August 23, 1952, at the United Methodist Church in Dighton, Kansas. Survivors include his widow, Olive, of the home; three sons, Lamont (Vicki), Wichita; Barry (Alice), Wichita; and Jim (Susan), Longmont, Colorado; 11 grandchildren; and 19 great-grandchildren.

His parents preceded him in death, Lewis on May 22, 1987, and Mildred on May 20, 1988, at Liberal, Kansas, as well as his only brother, Norman Lee Bloom, December 18, 2015, at Kismet, Kansas.

Theil was graduated from Liberal High School in 1950; Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, in 1954; and the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas, in 1957.

He practiced family medicine for 10 years as a partner of the Truhart Clinic, in Sterling, Kansas. During his years as a family physician there, he attended the delivery of more than 400 babies.

Theil returned to KU School of Medicine in 1968 for a three-year residency in general radiology, finishing in 1971. He joined the Wichita Clinic, where he practiced radiology from 1971 to 1976. He moved to Kingman in 1976 and Pratt in 1986, providing radiology services to rural hospitals in Kingman, Pratt, Harper, Anthony, and Cherryvale, Kansas, as well as Alva and Woodward, Oklahoma. He retired in 2005, and he and Olive moved to Wichita.

Theil was a board-certified general radiologist, a fellow of American College of Radiology, and a member of the American Medical Association.

He was a member of the Kansas State University and University of Kansas Alumni Associations; 4-H and the Kansas Farm Bureau; Calvary United Methodist Church, Wichita; and a Rotarian during his years in Sterling and Pratt.

Along with Olive, he was a founding member of the South Central Kansas Community Foundation in Pratt. They also supported the Pratt Regional Medical Center Foundation and together they were active participants in Sunday school classes. Theil said one of his most memorable stints of community service came during his 60s, from team-teaching a middle school Sunday School class at Pratt for two years.

Outside of work, which he always considered “a reward all its own,” Theil enjoyed flying, boating, and water skiing. He loved being outdoors, trying with varying degrees of success to make all three of his sons into hunters and outdoorsmen.

Memorials to the Dr. Theil Bloom Memorial Fund at the South Central Kansas Community Foundation, Pratt, to provide scholarships for future healthcare providers and administrators from central and western Kansas; Calvary United Methodist Church, Wichita; or the Great Plains United Methodist Camp Lakeside, Scott City.

Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 29, 2019 at Reflection Pointe Funeral & Cremation Services, 3201 S. Webb Rd., Wichita, KS 67210.  Funeral service set for 10:30 a.m. Monday, September 30, 2019, at Calvary United Methodist Church, 2525 N Rock Rd, Wichita, with burial at Reflection Pointe Cemetery, Wichita.