Henrietta "Rie" Bloomfield
is honored with a Large Bench from the Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation.
In memory of a generous spirit: The Bloomfield name is a familiar one at Wichita State University. Rie Bloomfield's name graces WSU's Marcussen organ recital series. The Bloomfield name endows Wichita State's aerospace engineering chair. Indeed, Rie Bloomfield and her husband, Sam Bloomfield, underwrote so many educational, cultural and charitable programs at WSU and in the greater Wichita community that the Bloomfield name stands for generosity of spirit.
A partial list of beneficiaries includes the Wichita Symphony Society, the Wichita Center for the Arts, the Wichita Art Museum, Friends University, Opera Kansas and the Wichita Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Rie Bloomfield was born in Henryetta, OK, in 1909. She received her degree in nursing from Wichita Hospital, the predecessor to Via Christi-St. Joseph Medical Center, in 1938 and practiced as an RN until her marriage. The Bloomfields lived in Wichita from 1934 to 1956, when Mr. Bloomfield served as president and chief engineer of Swallow Airplane Company. Although the Bloomfields moved to California in 1956, they maintained strong ties to Wichita.
After her husband's death in 1979, Rie Bloomfield moved to Seattle, WA. Through the Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation, she continued the couple's philanthropic commitment to Wichita and Wichita State. In 1986, she made a significant contribution toward the construction of Wiedemann Hall. She also funded the College of Engineering's Distinguished Engineer-in-Residence series, named in memory of her late husband.
As a tribute to her substantial philanthropy, Rie Bloomfield was awarded an honorary doctorate from Friends University in 1990. In 1993, WSU presented her with the Fairmount Founder Award in recognition of her enduring devotion to Wichita State and the wider community.
On that occasion she said, "I am proud to be a part of many good things that help to make Wichita and Wichita State the special places that they are and will continue to become."
Rie Bloomfield died January 28, 1996, but her name and her legacy of generosity live on.
September 10, 1998
