Mary S. Bulkeley, 92, of Asheville went to be with her Lord, Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at Asheville Health Care Center. A native of Greenville, SC, she is daughter of the late Rev. Kemper D. and Georgia Johnson Smith. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Lewis E. Bulkeley, Jr, her son, Lewis E. Bulkeley III, her sister, Hazel Potts and her brother, K. D. Smith.
Mrs. Bulkeley attended the University of SC and graduated as a registerd nurse in Columbia, SC. In 1941, she became one of Delta Air Lines first airline Stewardesses. She served in WWII as a First Lieutenant in the US Army Air Nurse Corps and was assigned to the 807th Medical Air Evacuation Squadron. From September 1, 1943 to June 6, 1945, she served in Italy, France and Africa and earned the Air Medal. Following her years in the service, she moved to Chicago, IL where she began raising her family and resided there for 47 years.
Her survivors include a daughter, Mary Ellen Bulkeley of Asheville, NC; son, Rev. Craig S. Bulkeley and his wife, Tracie of Black Mountain, NC; six grandchildren, Mary Rachel and Charlotte Bulkeley of Black Mountain, NC. Laura Conley and her husband, Ray of Manorville, NY, Lewis E. Bulkeley IV and his wife, Tanya of Trenton, GA, Colleen Thorne and her husband, Jim of Semmes, AL and Carolyn Bossany and her husband, Steve of Downers Grove, IL; two sisters, Lorenz Woodward of Aiken, SC and Frances Patterson of Covington, GA and thirteen great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held 3:00 PM, Saturday, December 4, 2010 at Blizzard Funeral Home, Wagener Chapel. Wagener, SC. Interment will be in Wagener Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Friendship Presbyterian Church, PO Box 116, Black Mountain, NC 28711.
