BLOOM, ALAN LAWRENCE, 74, passed away on 2/2/17. A graduate of the University of Miami, Alan was an English teacher at Coral Park Senior High School where he influenced the lives of countless students. He was most influential during his tenure as a Semantics teacher, nurturing the vocabulary of young adults and teaching them the lost art of eloquence in the English language. A charming, witty teacher renowned for his photographic memory, he was beloved by the student body, regardless of the year. He was Gin Rummy ace that was very rarely defeated and it wasn't uncommon for him to win in a shutout. Alan was also an avid sports and pari-mutuel fan, and he never met a line he didn't like. He had a deep love and extensive knowledge of cinema and could recite nearly every Oscar winner in history. Alan was a veritable cornucopia of knowledge, the likes of which the world has rarely seen. He could enthrall almost anyone with seemingly endless knowledge on a wide variety of subjects, even the most obscure, and was known by many as a walking almanac. While easily sufficient for professions generally considered more prestigious such as law or medicine, his genius was instead gracefully utilized to enhance the lives of generations of kids who were lucky enough to have had him as their high school teacher. Those who did, likely have their own entertaining Mr. Bloom story to recall, and will certainly never forget him. Alan is survived by the hundreds of kids whose lives he touched, and the truly blessed few whose lives he forever changed, notably Dennis McCarty who considered him his father (class of 1989), and his great friend of 47 years Ken Winick (class of 1973). He will be truly missed.