Bloemkers mark 50th anniversary FacebookTwitterEmail Delores and Darvin Bloemker ALTON — Darvin Alan Bloemker and the former Delores Jean Manda will celebrate 50 years of marriage June 26. They were married on June 26, 1971, at the College Avenue Presbyterian Church in upper Alton by the Reverend Arnold Leverenz. The couple met while teaching Drafting and Home Economics at Jersey Community High School in Jerseyville. Darvin Bloemker retired from the Engineering Technology Department at Western Illinois University in 2002. He continued to teach, do academic advising and OSHA safety training for Lewis & Clark Community College until 2012. Delores Bloemker retired from working at the Learning Tree & Copy Bee in Alton as an assistant store manager. She also was a teacher, teacher’s aide and substitute teacher for several school districts in the western Illinois region for 20 years.