In Memory of

Norma

"Jeanne"

Bullock

(Wellman)

Obituary for Norma "Jeanne" Bullock (Wellman)

Norma Jeanne Wellman Bullock was born on November 2, 1927, the year that Lindbergh made his solo flight over the Atlantic, and died on November 26, 2017, leaving a world utterly different from the one she was born into. She was married to an aviator, a flyer of light planes, and learned to fly herself in middle age. She was always one to take on new adventures and did so throughout her life.

Jeanne was born in Oklahoma City and recalled a childhood of playing with her brother Jim, her horse Pepper, and her dog Penny. She used to tell of Pepper’s flashpoint temperament, taking off in a gallop as soon as her foot first hit the stirrup, and of Penny’s wandering into her dad’s sour mash and staggering off the terraces that surrounded the house. An accomplished vocalist, she dropped out of what was then known as the Oklahoma College for Women in order to take private voice lessons with the goal of auditioning for the Metropolitan Opera. Fate intervened in the person of Charles Bullock, who wed her on April 8, 1950, beginning a marriage that lasted for 63 years. Her focus soon shifted to becoming the best mother she could be, but her silvery coloratura voice was the background treasure of our childhoods. We were raised on song that ranged from arias to folk music to the standards of the 1940s and ‘50s.

Jeanne was fearless, opinionated, and passionate. She was a strong-willed woman who spoke her mind plainly while hewing to the roles of housewife and mother. She invested in all her pursuits with determination and a fierce intellectual light. She brought that energy to her reading, gardening, raising German Shepherds, intense church and religious life, and in the second half of her life, to being a grandmother and great-grandmother, flying airplanes, and traveling to Europe and Alaska. After her older children left home and her younger ones entered their late teens, she took on the role of veterinary assistant to Dr. James Gibb, a job she loved and that fit with her love of animals. She later spent 15 years as a volunteer at the Azle Memorial Library. She made friends wherever she went and was a dedicated and loyal friend herself. Many will miss her.

Survivors include children Cynthia Lee and husband Bill Cryer, Nancy Henderson and husband Johnnie, and Schuyler Bullock and wife Brenda. Grandchildren include Keaton and Justin Vinson (father Doug Vinson), Aubrey True and husband David, and Kelly Bullock and husband Chris Wilson. Great-grandchildren include Brendan, Ivy, Cora, Jasper, and Levi True; Lucy (mother Jessica Martin) and London Vinson (mother Amanda Perdue); and Zoee Vinson and Elexiss Wellborn (mother Jennifer Dombrowski). She also leaves behind many friends, especially including Rita Wells and Phyllis Floyd, and including those from the Midway Church of Christ and the Azle Memorial Library. She was predeceased by husband Charles Bullock, son Reginald Bullock, and parents Clair and May Wellman.

Visitation will be held at Alexander’s Midway Funeral Home, 6307 E. Hwy 199, Springtown, TX 76082 , between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, and a graveside service will follow at Goshen Cemetery, 3660 Goshen Rd, Springtown, TX 76782, at 2:00 p.m. on the following day, Thursday, November 30.