Born on a farm in Elberta, Alabama, in 1940, his grandparents were German immigrants who were among the first settlers of that Baldwin County community.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Elsie Leitermann Bloch and Herman P. Bloch of Elberta, Alabama and his brother Herman A. Bloch of Elberta.
He is survived by his wife of fifty-four years, Marilyn Bloch, his children John Bloch (Toni) and Mary Middleton (Fred), grandchildren Elizabeth Middleton, Addison Bloch, Sarah Middleton, and Katherine Bloch, nephew Herman Bloch (Cindy) and niece Laurie Ann Gilbert (Rusty), and his great nieces and nephews.
Dr. Bloch graduated from Foley High School and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Auburn University and his PhD from North Carolina State University. Upon graduation from NC State, he returned to Alabama and worked for 35 years for the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. There he served as the Director of the Plant Industries and Plant Protection Divisions and the Director of the Pesticide Management Division. In addition, he supervised the Food and Drug Testing Laboratory and the Pesticide Residue Laboratory.
Dr. Bloch was widely admired throughout the industries and at the Department for his knowledge and integrity. He was also respected and loved in his church and community for his kindness and willingness to serve and for his sense of justice, his mercy, and his deep humility.
His life was defined by hard work, for “work is love made visible.” His each and every day contained not an idle hour, as his professional colleagues and his family will attest. He cherished his wife, children and his grandchildren, the sources of great joy and pride and comfort for him. He never failed in offices of tenderness and love for them, and he leaves behind a legacy of love. “He who knows not love knows not God, for God is love.” We rejoice that, truly, Johnny knows God, now even more closely.
A funeral service will be held Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 11:00 at Christchurch Anglican, 8800 Vaughn Road, with reception to follow in Canterbury Hall.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory can be made to Christchurch.
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