Date of Birth
July 5, 1986
Date of Death
August 19, 2018
Location
Jacksonville, Florida
Who She Was
Her Story
Stephanie Lynne Strickland Bloom, age 32, of Jacksonville, FL, passed away Sunday, August 19th, 2018 at Baptist Medical Center South of complications from childbirth. She delivered a healthy baby boy two days prior, Benjamin Edward Bloom.
Stephanie was born to Nadine “Dini” Vascellaro and Timothy Strickland on July 5th, 1986 at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
Stephanie was raised in Gainesville, FL, growing up an avid fan of the Florida Gators. She grew up a Girl Scout and played volleyball into high school before coaching traveling teams throughout college. She graduated from Eastside High School International Baccalaureate in 2004 and the University of Florida in 2007 where she was awarded a B.S. in Recreation, Parks and Tourism. Her professional career led her to Jacksonville University where she was most recently the Assistant Director of Enrollment & Advising Graduate Nursing.
Stephanie’s passion for sport and outdoor activity continued into young adulthood. She and her husband hiked Half Dome and Clouds Rest in Yosemite National Park for their honeymoon, skied in Austria and Jackson Hole, and attended many memorable Gator sporting events. Running became a passion, and she completed the Apalachicola Running for the Bay Marathon in 2010, 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer Marathon in 2012 and New York City Marathon in 2014. Much of her enjoyment with running came from the friends and family she trained alongside.
In 2011, Stephanie married John P. Bloom, III of Lawtey, FL in Ponte Vedra, FL. Stephanie and John have been blessed with three beautiful children: Audrey Lynne Bloom, age 5, John Preston Bloom IV, age 1, and Benjamin Edward Bloom, born August 17, 2018. Stephanie’s desire to have a family was reflected in the selfless qualities characteristic of many a great mother and devoted wife. She sacrificed or curtailed many of her past passions in favor of her children, husband and family.
Her life was full of love and happiness. Stephanie had a bright future to grow into as a Mother and Wife.
Stephanie is further survived by Her parents, Nadine “Dini” and Michael P. Vascellaro, Tim and Michele Strickland; her brothers and sisters, Richard Owen, Nickolas Vascellaro, Brooke Owen, Yssa Vascellaro, Brittany Vascellaro, and Nina Gonzalez-Owen; grandparents, Joanne Kniffen Andrews and John W. Andrews, MD, and Danny and Regina Parris; uncles and aunts, Paul and Dottie Guidry, Richard and Wendy Kniffen, and Simplicity Love; cousins, Rachel Guidry, Jared Guidry, and Amora Marshman; John’s parents, John P. Jr. and Doreen Bloom; and John’s siblings, Penny and Justin Primus, and Dusty Bloom; along with numerous extended family, friends and work associates.
The late Jared C. Kniffen, MD preceded her in death.