Frank Blommaerts, CPO, passed away on February 6 at the age of 85.
Blommaerts was born in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1928, and began working in O&P at the age of 14, “when [prosthetic] feet were made by hand, sockets were made out of hand-shaped tin, and wooden sockets were still being carved,” according to an OANDP-L listserv posting by Steve Rosenberg, CP, BOCO.
According to an obituary posted by the Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, Gresham, Oregon, Blommaerts and his wife immigrated to Canada in 1952, and to the United States in 1965, settling in Portland, Oregon. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. In 1980, he opened Eastside Orthotics and Prosthetics, Portland, and practiced there until his retirement in 2002. “He was greatly respected by his colleagues and also known as a very sharp dresser,” the obituary said.
Blommaerts is survived by three daughters, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren; he was preceded in death by a grandson.
