To make a donation to Sound Water Stewards in honor of either or both of these two SWS members who passed in 2022, please go to “Ways to Give” and look for the heading “Dedicate this Donation” to open a box to put in their names.
Terry Skorheim, Class of Class of 2008
A Celebration of Life will be held at 94 Edgewater Drive Camano Island, WA on Sunday, September 25th with an open house from 1pm-4pm.
The Family of Terry Skorheim
Here is Terry’s published obituary.
Very recently, Terry Skorheim (in blue hat in picture below) explained the fish and invertebrates found in the sein net and transferred to an aquarium on a picnic table for all to see up close. To keep the water cool and oxygen level high, he added ice and a bubbler. Nearby children were enthralled.
From the beginning, Terry Skorheim was very active in Beach Watchers-Sound Water Stewards. For several years he headed up the 4th Wednesday Speaker Series at the Library and organized both summer and winter low-tide beach walks at Camano State Parks. His sudden loss will be felt by many in SWS including Terry’s son and fishing buddy, Gary Skorheim, Class of 2011 who now lives near Grand Coulee Dam and who has also been active in Sound Water Stewards.
Terry was a career Forest Service Ranger, last serving as District Manager of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest with offices in Darrington. Even after he retired, he was called back most summers to help manage forest fire operations in that area. Stewards describe Terry, “very loyal, active, dedicated, a wonderful volunteer always ready to take on projects to promote to the public about our great beaches and about marine conservation.” He will be missed including at the aquarium this summer.
Pictured below: Terry and others at Cama Beach Foundation/SWS Low Tide event, June 16, 2022.
Greg Bloom, Class of 2016
With great sadness, we share the news of the passing in May of Camano’s Greg Bloom. Right up until the end Greg was an active Steward. Each month, he and Paul Williams scooped up beach samples from Maple Grove Boat Launch beach and took them back to their neighborhood to screen and prepare the sand and pea gravel samples for researchers to look for Forage Fish eggs in the monitoring survey for the Marine Resources Committee and NW Straits Foundation.
“Greg loved sharing his sea and beach knowledge. He once brought dried seaweed to the SWS class so his classmates could taste them. Greg had a connection to Camano Island since 1957 when his parents bought a fishing resort just north of the Cama Beach State Parks named Mel Bloom’s Manaco Beach Resort and where many family members still reside. I enjoyed our monthly Forage Fish Egg Surveys together,” says Paul.
Greg and Marianne Bloom, along with Paul, became Sound Water Stewards together in 2018. As an educator, Marianne has been a strong advocate for the high value of the SWS training program. We will all miss Greg and his quiet strong countenance! Here is Greg’s obituary.
“Greg and the Bloom family moved to Manaco Beach in 1957 where they lived and worked Mel Bloom‘s Manaco Beach resort. Greg loved to fish, crab, clam, plant oyster beds and row his boat. After our retirement, it was a natural fit to join the sound water stewards program. We thoroughly enjoyed SWS university-level classes at Cama Beach. His monthly foraging fish egg count with neighbor Paul Williams was a highlight. In his small quiet way, he made a big difference in this world, always showing up, always actively involved, always learning. The Salish Sea was his playground, thank you for preserving it for all of us.”
Marianne McGarry-Bloom, Class of 2018
Pictured below: Greg Bloom (on left) and Paul Williams at Maple Grove beach.
Published in the July 2022 SWS Beach Log newsletter
