Fundraiser Planned In Honor Of Late Wootton Swim Coach

A former Wootton High School swimmer is organizing a fundraiser to honor her late coach.

Howard Blume, Wootton's swim and dive coach for 14 years, died Wednesday, April 18, from complications with a heart condition, according to a report by The Gazette.

"Coach Blume was the Wootton Swim and Dive Team," Lindsey Peller, a 2007 graduate of the Rockville high school, told Patch in an email. "He cared for his swimmers as if they were his own children and hoped for their success in all aspects of life.

"He will be truly missed by the Wootton community as well as the larger swimming community and I think that was evident at his memorial service. There were people packed into the room, standing along the walls, in the hallway and even outside. He will be sincerely missed."

Peller, a North Potomac native, worked with  with hopes of raising enough money to purchase a plaque in his honor for the school.

Twenty percenty of all proceeds from dine-ins will go toward the plaque along with 20 percent of proceeds from take-outs who mention the fundraiser when ordering, Peller said.

In a letter to the Wootton community, principal Michael Doran said Blume turned Wootton swimming into a county powerhouse.

"Mr. Blume was not a teacher [at Wootton] but loved his sport and his Wootton teams, he was passionate about his coaching role and will be missed," Doran wrote in the letter.

"I am so glad that I got the opportunity to know him the past nine years and I will value the conversations we had about students, swimming and life," Doran said. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to his whole family."