Jim was born Oct. 10, 1939, in Three Rivers, Miss. He passed away Monday, Sept. 24, 2007.

He was the son of Kenneth and Eunice (DeWeerd) Bloom. His is survived by his spouse, Judith of Wilsonville; a son, Chad of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; a sister, Marena Kuratko of Three Rivers, Miss.; grandchildren, Brett and Ben and their mother, Kathy Bloom of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; stepsons, Chris Gray and Eric Arndt of N.C.; his beloved Aunt Bee (Bernita Hughes); and nieces, Mindy (Greg) Shutes of Three Rivers, Miss., and Cari (Mike) Marzolf of Douglas, Miss. He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Marilyn; and his brother, Fred Bloom.

Jim joined the Air Force after graduating from high school in 1957, and retired in 1978. He was hand-selected to become an aircrew member serving as a presidential security guard aboard Air Force One from 1963 until his deployment to South Vietnam in 1967. While in Vietnam, he was awarded the Bronze Star and Presidential Unit Citation for his actions and participation in repelling a North Vietnamese attack on Ton Son Nut Air Base, SVN, during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

Following his tour of duty in Vietnam, he returned to Andrews AFB where he resumed his duties as a presidential security guard aboard Air Force One. He traveled extensively with presidents, congressmen, and federal department secretaries including historic trips to China and the former Soviet Union with President Nixon.

Following his Air Force career, he went on to work with the U.S. Postal Service, retiring in 2001.

Funeral services were held on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Charter Funeral Home in Calera. The family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Institute in lieu of flowers.