Irving Blum, Baltimore businessman and philanthropist, died here yesterday at the age of 58 after an extended illness. He was chairman of the board of Blum’s, Inc., a real estate, finance and investment institution.
A graduate of Baltimore City College and the Johns Hopkins University, where he received a bachelor degree in economics, Mr. Blum was a past president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, a coordinating council for a number of Jewish charities in North America. He was also the first president of the Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund of Baltimore and chairman of that organization’s Institute for Jewish Life in 1972.
Mr. Blum’s long commitment to Jewish community activities in Baltimore led him to be chairman of the Israel Emergency Fund in 1967 and service on the boards of Jewish Family and Children’s Service, the Baltimore Jewish Council and chairman of an Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund task force on Jewish Identity. After service in the U.S. Army in Europe, Mr. Blum remained active in the Army reserve and retired with the rank of major.
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