Jennifer Lee Blum, whose first job out of college was as news editor for two central Wisconsin newspapers, died Friday, April 3, in Marshfield. She was 57.
Blum was born Aug. 30, 1962, in Wisconsin Rapids, to Jerome and Barbara Blum. She graduated from the city’s Lincoln High School in 1980, and earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from UW-Stevens Point in 1990.
- RELATED: Read recent obituaries
- RELATED: Remembering Jennifer Blum
After college, Blum worked as news editor of the (Manawa) Advocate and the Tomorrow River Times in Amherst. She went on to work in a number of non-journalism positions, most recently spending eight years as director of communication and donor relations at the Opportunity Development Center.
Blum married Samuel Simms in 1990 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wisconsin Rapids. They had four dogs — Sparky, Cody, Kelcie, and Buddha — and three cats, Abby, Nikki, and Besitos.
