David P. Bloys
OBITUARY
David Polhemus Bloys departed this life on July 5, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. He was 86 years old. Dave was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1939 to John Van Fleet Bloys, an attorney, and Anne Case Polhemus, an elementary school teacher. Growing up in Westfield, New Jersey, Dave and his older brother Kerry’s antics kept their parents busy, including a coterie of pets—most notably, Dave’s pet rat Mickey. A family year-end letter recounts young Dave and Kerry’s hobbies as “the Dodgers, New York and Post cartoons, wrestling in the house (to be discontinued after Jan. 1) and would be television if their parents ‘weren’t so cheap.’” At Christmas, Dave enjoyed listening to Charles Laughton’s reading of “Mr. Pickwick’s Christmas,” a Bloys tradition he carried forward with his children. A math major at Lafayette College, he was a star lineman for the Leopards football team and a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduating in 1961, Dave began his career at IBM in White Plains, New York, and was later transferred to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he moved with his first wife, Mary Ellen Williams. Dave and Mary Ellen raised their three sons, spent summers in Avalon, New Jersey and built countless lifelong friendships. In 1969, Dave and several former IBM colleagues founded Pentamation Enterprises in Bethlehem, a software company specializing in hospital billing, education, and local government administration. At a time when most hospitals and government agencies had no computers, much less digital records, Pentamation was a software pioneer, both nationally and in the Lehigh Valley, and employed more than 750 people. After thirty years building Pentamation, Dave and his partners sold the company in 1999 to SunGard Data Systems, and he retired. In retirement, Dave and his second wife, Senie Bartoli, with whom he had his fourth son, David, added to their existing investments in downtown Bethlehem, opening Edge Restaurant in addition to two well-received stores on Main Street. Dave maintained a steadfast commitment to his community. In 1999, he and his Pentamation business partner, Jeff Feather, helped purchase the Hotel Bethlehem and lead it out of bankruptcy, preserving one of historic Bethlehem’s most treasured Main Street landmarks. He was a devoted parent and grandparent at Moravian Academy and supported causes near to his heart, including Lafayette, Moravian, and St. Luke’s Hospital. In 2000, Lafayette honored him with the George Washington Kidd Award for distinguished achievement in his career. Dave was a lifelong outdoorsman and had a perpetual tan to prove it. Whether deer hunting at Camp Snore, taking the kids boogie boarding and rollerblading in Avalon (with ample time to catch The Fabulous Greaseband at The Princeton Bar & Grill), or skiing out west, he enjoyed life to the fullest. Dave was perhaps happiest at the family’s home in the Thousand Islands region of upstate New York. There, on Cedar Island, Dave hosted a rotating cast of characters each summer, and his pancake recipe was renowned up and down the St. Lawrence. Dave would catch the biggest bass or pike, win by a hair at shuffleboard, and bluff at hearts like nobody’s business. For a man who achieved great success, Cedar Island was where Dave enjoyed simple pleasures: a box of Wheat Thins, a vodka on the rocks, and fishing off the diving board at sunset. In 2016, Dave married Debra DelSerro of Bethlehem. Together, they found happiness in a quiet life at home, spending time with their children and grandchildren and their beloved dogs, Shadow and Luke. Debi was the great love and companion of Dave’s later years. He remained deeply devoted to her and profoundly grateful for the patient, loving care she gave him throughout the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Dave was predeceased by his parents and his brother, Kerry. He is survived by his wife, Debi Bloys; his four sons, John E. Bloys (Erin Enderlin) of Bethlehem, Daniel P. Bloys of Bethlehem, Casey Allen Bloys (Alonzo Wickers IV) of Los Angeles, and David Van Fleet Bloys (Joseph Whited) of Washington, D.C.; and six grandchildren, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Kathryn, Ella, India, and Alonzo V.
SERVICES: A private family service will be held to honor Dave’s life. His arrangements are entrusted to Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, Bethlehem. A memory tribute may be placed at www.cantelmifuneralhome.com.
CONTRIBUTIONS: In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to: Save the River/Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper https://savetheriver.org/; Saucon Sanctuary Fund https://www.lehighvalleyfoundation.org/saucon-sanctuary; Parkinson’s Foundation http://www.parkinson.org.