Vernice J. Blum

Vernice J. Blum, 90, of Sioux City died Friday, May 19, 2006 at a local nursing home. Visitation will be held on Monday, May 22, 2006 from 3-8 p.m. with the family present from 6-8 p.m. a vigil service will then begin at 7:00 p.m. all at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church with Reverend Daniel Guenther celebrating. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in Akron, Iowa.

Vernice was born April 4, 1916, to Avery and Grace (Stinton) Small in rural Akron. She grew up and attended Akron High School. After graduation, she moved to California for a short time.

She married Basil Blum on Feb. 22, 1938, in Castroville, Calif. The couple moved back to Iowa in the early 1940s to farm. In 1960, they moved to a farm near Lawton, Iowa. They retired and moved to Bronson, Iowa. Vernice moved to Sioux City in 2000.

She was a member of Immaculate Conception Church, the Lawton Saddle Club and Chuck Wagon Association of N.W. Iowa. Vernice enjoyed reading, sewing and crossword puzzles.

Survivors include her sons, Jerome and his wife, Georgia Blum of Moville, Iowa and Vaughn and his wife, Mary Blum of Columbus, Neb.; six grandchildren, Brad Blum of Wichita, Kan., Mike Blum of Lincoln, Neb., Julie Blum of Columbus, Neb., Laurie Blum of Minneapolis, Minn., Carrie Blum of Los Angeles, Calif. and Sara Blum of Sioux City; two great-grandsons, Brook and Hunter Blum; brothers and their wives, Kenneth and Evelyn Small, James and Edith Small and Gayland and Selma Small, all of Akron, Clayton and Marilyn Small of Sioux City, Roscoe and Evelyn of Le Mars, Iowa, Fay and Burma Small of Gorger, Texas and Clinton and Kathleen Small of Dunlap, Iowa; a sister, Ramona Govig of Atlantic, Iowa; and two sisters-in-law, Jo Small of Akron and Claudia Small of South Sioux City.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Basil on March 31, 1996; two sisters, Wilma Baldwin and Karen Small; and four brothers, Vernard Small, Arvel Small, Ivyl Small and Eldon Small.