Gerald Jacob Blum, age 84, of Halbur, IA, passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, January 23, 2021.

     Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 A.M. on Friday, January 29, 2021at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Halbur, IA, with Fr. Timothy Friedrichsen as Celebrant.  The lector for the Mass will be MiKayla Blum.  Music for the Mass will be by Julie Sibbel.  Honorary gift bearers will be Gerald’s grandchildren.  Casket bearers will be Jacob Blum, Michael Wilson, Greg Maassen, Phillip Blum, Kevin Blum, and Tim Schuerman.  Burial will be in the St. Augustine Parish Cemetery.

     Friends may call at the Dahn and Woodhouse Funeral Home in Carroll after 5:00 P.M. on Thursday where there will be a Rosary at 6:30 P.M.  The casket will be moved to St. Augustine Church on Friday at 9:30 A.M. where visitation will resume without greeting the family until 10:15 A.M. 

     Those in attendance at Gerald’s visitation and Mass are asked to abide by Covid-19 guidelines and facemasks are required at the funeral home and at the church.

     Gerald was born on August 1, 1936, on his family’s farm near Naper, NE, and he was the son of Leo and Elizabeth (Halbur) Blum.  He grew up on the farm and graduated from Naper High School.  Gerald was married to Shirley Kibby on September 30, 1958, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Naper, NE.  Gerald drove a truck for several companies and the couple moved to Halbur in 1971 at the recommendation of some good friends.  Gerald worked at Halbur Hardware and continued to drive a truck.  In 1984 Gerald and Shirley purchased the Halbur Inn and operated it until 2000.  Gerald went back driving a truck for several local companies until his retirement.  Gerald enjoyed making picnic tables, playing cards, riding his golf cart around Halbur, and most of all spending time with his grandchildren.

     Gerald is survived by his wife Shirley of 63 years of Halbur; a son Michael Blum (Karen) of Halbur; a daughter-in-law Tammy Blum of Arcadia; four grandchildren: Ashley Wilson (Michael) of Carroll, Kelsey Maassen (Greg) of Onawa, IA, and MiKayla and Jacob Blum of Arcadia; three great-grandchildren: Maci, Ellie, and Harper; a sister Joyce Mohling (Craig) of Gretna, NE; two sisters-in-law Sandra Kibby of Butte, NE, and Velva June Blum of Norfolk, NE; and several nieces and nephews.

     Gerald was preceded in death by his parents Leo and Elizabeth Blum; his father and mother-in-law Ernest and Edna Kibby; two brothers Melvin Blum (Sylvia) and Jim Blum; and his son Leslie Blum in 2003.