Bishop Heelan High School principal dies at age 59

After a year-long battle with cancer, Marilyn (Peckenpaugh) Blum, 59, principal at Bishop Heelan High School in Sioux City, died July 27, 2008. The rare form of cancer affected her sinuses.

The Bishop Heelan School Community led a vigil service at St. Michael Church in Sioux City on the evening of July 30. The funeral was held July 31 at St. Patrick's Church in Akron with Father Pat Walsh, president of Bishop Heelan High School, presiding. Msgr. Richard Zenk, pastor of St. Patrick's, and other priests of the diocese concelebrated. Bishop R. Walker Nickless was also present.

Marilyn, a 1966 graduate of Heelan, served as principal at Bishop Heelan since 2006 but worked for the Catholic schools for 22 years. She was a wife and mother of three.

"On behalf of the Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools, we offer our sympathies to Tim and his entire family. Marilyn will be missed in our school system; she has gone onto the Kingdom. As our entire school system deals with the loss of Marilyn, we need to give ourselves the time to grieve, to support one another and to assist Tim and his family. As soon as details are available we will make them available to you. We need to place our trust in God and in one another," said Father Patrick R. Walsh, president of Bishop Heelan Catholic Schools.

Marilyn was born on Oct. 13, 1948, in Sioux City, the daughter of Clay "Mearl" and Mary Alice "Mae" (Bauerly) Peckenpaugh. She attended Immaculate Conception Grade School and graduated from Heelan in 1966. She graduated from Briar Cliff College in 1970. She received a master's of art degree in elementary and secondary administration from Clarke College in 1999.

She married Timothy J. Blum on July 10, 1971 in Sioux City.

After starting her teaching career in the Sioux City Public Schools, she operated the Nativity Preschool. She began teaching at St. Michael's Grade School in Sioux City in 1986; served as co-principal of both Sacred Heart and St. Michael Grade Schools from 2001 to 2002; principal at Sacred Heart Grade School from 2002 to 2004; and was principal at Mater Dei School - Immaculate Conception Center before being named the first female principal at Bishop Heelan High School.

Survivors include her husband, Timothy of Westfield, Iowa; two daughters and their husbands, Jennifer and Alan Wade of Fort Collins, Colo., and Rebecca and Brian Walsh of Pierre, S.D., a son, Wayne Blum of Sioux City; five grandchildren, Timothy, Jack and Maegan Walsh and Grace and Joseph Wade, a sister, Mary Kneifl of Newcastle, Neb.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A memorial will be established to benefit Bishop Heelan High School.

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