Ernest Roy Blood

Ernest Roy Blood, Age 86, of Metamora, Illinois and Gallatin Gateway, Montana, passed away on September 22, 2026.

He was born March 3rd, 1940, in Polk County, Iowa the son of Frank and Meta Maria (McCallister) Blood. He married Marie Anita Poindexter on February 17, 1963, in Adel, Iowa. She survives.

Also surviving are two children: Tam (Margarita) Gutierrez-Blood of San Francisco, California; and David (Jennifer) Blood, of Littleton, Colorado. Also surviving are four grandchildren: Garrett, Lauren and Greyson Blood of Littleton, Colorado and Sofia Guitierrez-Blood, of San Francisco, California: a sister, Mary Erickson, Miller, Missouri; and a brother, Max (Linda) Blood, of Verona, Missouri.

He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Betty (Jack) Szerencse of Chariton, Iowa, and a brother-in-law, Don Ericson, Miller, Missouri.

Ernest was a 1957 graduate of Adel Community High School, Adel, Iowa and awarded a 1961 B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. He was hired by the U.S. Forest Service to work as a construction engineer for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington State, and drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1963, where he worked as a test engineer in Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma, Arizona on heavy military equipment. He was hired as a test engineer for the Caterpillar Tractor Co. Proving Ground in Peoria, Illinois in May 1965. From there he served in testing, design, and manufacturing departments. He was an inventor known for his contributions to engineering and co-invented a patent for an auxiliary emergency steering system, which was associated with Caterpillar Tractor Company. Ernest retired from Caterpillar in 2002 as Assistant Director of Manufacturing and Materials Research.

He was a member of the Society of Automotive and Society of Manufacturing Engineers and on the advisory board of the University of Illinois Manufacturing Research Center, plus a member of CAM-I & RIA Board of Directors.

Ernest’s last church membership was with Stark Congressional Church, Stark, Illinois.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, Adel, IA with visitation beginning at 1:00 p.m., on Monday, October 12, 2026. Burial will follow at Oakdale Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rochester, MN in support of blood cancer research.